Small Changes
by YAXON
Summary: Sometimes we turn back time to avert tragedies... Other times we have less noble reasons... like working your dad into a harem with your favorite aunts. Natsu and Erza's children REALLY should have been watched more closely. Crackfic.
1. Chapter 1

"I dunno… what if dad finds out?"

"He's not going to find out!"

"… And even if he did, he'd probably give us our favorite dessert instead of punishing us."

"I gotta go with the twins on this, Enyo. Dad won't get mad. Trust me."

"… Then what about mom?"

"…"

"…"

"… W-Well, we'll just pop back there for a bit, do our small changes, and be back before she notices anything. Simple."

"I don't like this… We should at least bring Big Bro Simon along. He…"

"NO! No. Everything will be fine. I'm the oldest one here right now, and I say we'll be _fine_. You trust me, don't ya, Enyo? Don't you want dad to be happy and loved?"

"Well… I…"

"Now, that's not nice, Lav. You know Enyo was positively enthralled with Aunt Lisanna's tales of their childhood. It's not like he's unhappy as he is now, you know?"

"Simon…! Ugh. Mom's on her way here now, isn't she?"

"No… I wanted to see if I could talk you down from your little misadventure first. None of you deserve _**That**_ as punishment…"

Shivers all around.

"W-Well, too bad! I've already made up my mind! Do you know how much I owe the twins for getting us this far?! I'd rather go through _**That**_ a hundred times before backing down!"

"Yeah, she kinda owes us no matter what."

"We've got her agreement in writing. Her debt won't be revoked."

"… I see. Very well then. I shall accompany you."

"… Really? Just like that? Your 'honor' would allow that?"

"Well, it's not as if I'm not curious about mom and dad's past. Somebody has to stop you from making changes left and right just because you don't like something."

"So what? It's okay to change _some_ things? What happened to 'even stepping on a bug could irreparably damage the present'?"

"I still think that holds some truth. But it's not as if I'm without pity for some of the things mom and dad had to go through… Think of the lives that could be saved."

"… Damn you goody two-shoes… This trip was supposed to be _fun_. Giving dad all the love he deserves!"

"You mean all the 'women' he deserves. And yes, I will be keeping you in check on that. As much as I love our aunts, our mother is more than enough, don't you think?"

"… No."

* * *

It was the year X814 when five rambunctious siblings decided to use a Spell to travel back in time thirty years. No one quite knows who the ingenious creator behind the Spell was, but in the end, it hardly mattered. The point is that such a Spell was devised sometime after the war between Ishgar and Alvarez in X792 – and thankfully, a responsible Council member had put it under lock and key so that no one would be tempted to use it.

A fat lot of good that did everyone. A pair of mischievous boys had managed to crack the security put in place to guard the scroll containing the instructions for the Spell, and now all five children of Natsu and Erza Dragneel were foolhardily on what was for them a trip to the distant past. The eldest was a mature young man twenty one years of age named Simon – named after a dear friend that had perished in Natsu and Erza's youth. Next was a fiery young lady of seventeen years named Lavana… Natsu had been in charge of naming her, and ironically she was a 'Daddy's Girl' in every sense of the word. Then you had the twins, who were both fifteen years old – Chance and Chase Dragneel, both very bright and yet very playful; keep an eye on these two. And finally, you had young Enyo, who was about twelve years old; Enyo was a sweet, shy girl after 'Aunt Lisanna's' own heart.

All five of these siblings had come to X784 for varying reasons. For the girls, it was about hooking their father up with their favorite aunts, in addition to their mother. For Simon, he wanted to enact some positive change; save his parents some grief. And the twins… Well, you're really better off not knowing what goes through their heads. All you needed to know was that they eerily thought along similar mischievous channels, and they often seemed in perfect synchronization. Rest assured, anything they had planned would not bode well for the sanity of, well… anyone.

And the one distinguishing feature all five of these siblings shared… was their rose-colored hair. That's right. Natsu seemed to have super genes, granting _all_ of his children his hair color.

"So… where are we?" Lavana queried as the Spell dissipated from their new surroundings. Back in X814, they'd chosen to enact the Spell outside of Magnolia; but it seemed like now they were in a completely different location, if the town they were overlooking was any indication.

"Mmm… I would say Magnolia still. Keep in mind that a lot can change in thirty years – especially with a Guild like ours protecting it." Simon mused as he took in the view as well. His statement caused his younger brothers to snicker. Heh. Heh. Protect. Yeah… Because Fairy Tail was totally mindful of the people they were sworn to protect.

Lavana clapped her hands together in a manner that commanded attention.

"Well, no time like the present! Let's get reacquainted with our Guild, shall we?"

Though she didn't take more than a few steps before Simon stopped her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Now let's just wait a minute here… When exactly are we in X784? If you'll recall, there was _a lot_ happening this year. We may not be welcomed with open arms depending on what's happened recently." Simon was promptly awarded a blank stare from Lavana and a couple of innocent looks from the twins. Enyo was just looking up at him innocently, having not read much from the history books yet. Simon decided to 'attack' the twins, since it seemed they chose the date. "Chance… Chase…"

"June." Chase answered promptly. When he was scrutinized further, Chance chipped in, too.

"'Bout a week before dad meets Lucy in Hargeon."

Simon nodded solemnly.

"That's better. If Lucy has yet to join the Guild, then nothing too major has happened. Now… Before we approach anyone, I think it would be in our best interest to dye our hair." Simon had to hold back a sigh as Lavana instantly objected.

"No way! Dad gave me this color, and I _love_ it! You can't make me do anything to it!"

Simon shook his head from side to side.

"Fine, I suppose… You can keep it, but the rest of us will have to change. Even if we are family, we'll stick out like sore thumbs if we go in like this. It wouldn't be very hard to piece together that we're related to Natsu – and yes, we'll have to get used to calling him that while we're here. I would advise the rest of us to change to a subtle color so that we don't have to pretend to be strangers with one another."

"How about red?" Enyo batted her eyes cutely at her eldest brother. "Mom has really pretty hair!"

Simon just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yes, she does… But I'm afraid that will still draw attention, considering you girls and I share some physical characteristics with Erza. We don't want to raise questions and draw suspicion. I suggest going with black or brown."

"Speaking of not drawing suspicion…" Lavana smirked as she eyed Simon's spiky locks. "You boys are going to need haircuts… It's a little too close to dad's."

To the pinkette's ire, however, Simon laughed softly as he conceded her point. He was never quick to anger, which Lavana both admired and envied.

"True. It'll probably have to be you that goes into town and gets the dye; you'll draw the least suspicion. I'll trim the twins while you're away, and when you come back you can do mine."

Lavana scowled as Simon was giving her the brunt of the workload.

"Why me? I don't even have…" Lavana faltered as a small bag of Jewels was Requipped into Simon's hand. "… money. Well, why do I have to cut your hair, then?"

"Would you really make me do it myself or have little Enyo do it?" Simon asked in a slightly wounded tone, getting Lavana's eye to twitch. The twins were simply out of the question, and Enyo could accidentally hurt herself, wielding the knife… And her conscience simply wouldn't let Simon have split ends or anything due to not being able to see his own handiwork… Damn it.

"Fine." The pinkette grumped as she took the bag and stormed off. All Lavana wanted was to get to the Guild, meet her dad who was now around her age, and cook up some romance between her parents. Was that too much to ask?!

* * *

Well, things didn't go quite as planned. Simon was able to give Chance and Chase their haircuts, but they bolted off before Lavana got back. And no, they were _not_ headed toward Magnolia. Honestly, Simon wanted to run after them, but he couldn't abandon Enyo, and Lavana wouldn't have had any idea where they went. Frankly, Simon would have to trust that those boys wouldn't get up to too much trouble… They were very bright and fairly skilled in Dragon Slayer Magic, but Simon had no way of determining if they would be able to hold their own in this tumultuous past.

Never mind the fact that they were the most devious-minded people that Simon knew. You'd think by age fifteen they wouldn't be able to have venerable careers in pranking… and you'd be wrong. They once instigated a prank war with their father's rival after firing the first shot without any repercussions (Mother was present to keep Gray from cursing them out…). Hell, they'd found a way to fiddle with the jail cell locks so that they could leave anytime they wanted to after getting in trouble with the Council. Their father had never been so proud, and mother so… well, okay, she was impressed with their ingenuity. And at their frightening stealth skills, as they _had_ escaped the Council's prison on a few occasions.

Ultimately, Simon feared more for his brothers' soon-to-be victims. They literally had no idea what kind of shitstorm was headed their way… Kami, why did Lavana have to make a deal with the Devil? Twin Devils at that.

In the end, an hour after Simon and Enyo altered their appearances, they and Lavana made their way to the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. It was quite different from the one they knew in thirty years' time; hell, it wasn't even the same building. Phantom Lord would wreck this one, if Simon recalled correctly. Hopefully they could rectify that.

"So… you wish to join Fairy Tail?" Makarov rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at the three before him. They were certainly a motley crew – a man, a teenager, and a young girl. Clearly they were related to one another, though.

"Ah… yes." Simon rubbed the back of his head. Damn. He really wasn't prepared for being face-to-face with a legend like Master Makarov – this was just plain nerve-wracking. "I know it's rather sudden, but we really have nowhere else to go…"

More like Lavana would spirit Natsu away the moment he returned home or just left Magnolia in general, otherwise. They _really_ didn't need Fairy Tail gunning for them because Lav wanted her cuddly alone time with their father… You know, this would really be awkward, come to think of it. Technically Simon was older than his mother in this period of time, even if it was just by two years.

"Aw, it'll be no trouble at all." Makarov grinned at the young man. The Dragneel siblings were in awe of the man's willingness to trust so easily… No wonder their parents turned out the way they did. "You look like honest folk! So are you mages?"

Simon's expression became solemn as this was posed.

"Actually, if it's alright with you, I would like to speak with you in private…" At Makarov's raised eyebrow, the eldest Dragneel explained as much as he could. "Our Magic is… fairly unique, and I would like to explain our, er… history."

Nodding in acceptance, Makarov turned his head to Mira, who was fetching some drinks behind the counter.

"Mira, would you be a dear and watch these two pretty girls? I'll be up in my office if anyone needs me."

"Of course, Master!" Mira chirped, and giggled when Lavana seemed to give a typical fangirl reaction. Plus, the little girl next to her just looked so _cute_! It took all of the barmaid's willpower to hold back from leaping over the counter and squeezing those adorable cheeks.

Simon sweatdropped as his sister equally struggled to restrain herself. Aunt Mira was Lav's absolute favorite, bar none. It was Mira who looked after them whenever their mother had business outside Magnolia and their father was out on a job. And considering they were Guild Master and S-Class mage respectively, that happened more often than one would think. Which meant all the more time for the Takeover mage to sink her claws in her former rival's kids. Not as bad as it sounds – Mira simply spoiled them rotten and made Lavana into a little gossip and matchmaker.

Thankfully, little Enyo bonded more with Aunt Lisanna. Just… thank Kami. Sweet Enyo didn't need to emulate her sister; she was perfect just the way she was.

"So what type of Magic do you two use?" Mira asked the girls curiously. Lavana sighed a little internally, knowing Simon would want her to be cautious in what she revealed openly.

"Oh… just a type of Fire Magic." The pinkette inwardly lamented not getting to show off the Magic her father trained her in. And after he fought tooth and nail to claim some of the Dragon Lacrimas that were unearthed at an excavation site some years back. Er… some years in the future for this point in time. Lavana and Chance each had one implanted in them.

"And what about you…?" Mira trailed off to indicate she didn't know the girls' names.

"Oh! I'm Lavana, and this is my Sis, Enyo!" Lavana sheepishly introduced. Enyo smiled tentatively at the barmaid.

"Um… I'm not sure." Enyo bashfully tapped her index fingers together and stared down at the floor. "I haven't used any yet, and I dunno how to…"

Mira nodded in understanding. Late-bloomers weren't uncommon; sometimes you just needed the right occasion to unleash your power.

 _'And sometimes, it gets taken away from you…'_ Mira tried to ignore that niggling thought, but it lingered in the back of her mind. Her own situation. It'd been two years, and she just hadn't felt as she once did… Perhaps she never would again. "It's okay! Sometimes Magic takes time to grow inside you. You'll be using it someday soon, Enyo."

The now-raven-haired preteen beamed appreciatively at Aunt Mira's kind words. Aunt Lisanna had said something similar, and she believed both of them. A few moments after the three girls began exchanging small talk, Gray Fullbuster casually walked over and asked for a drink.

"So who're you two supposed to be? You new?"

Lavana had to _strongly_ fight the impulse to punch her dad's rival in the face. Not 'cause he pissed her off or… Well, okay, she could admit it. Like father like daughter, Lavana could not on some instinctual level stand the Ice Make Wizard. 'Course he was a family friend, but… there were just some people that needed a good ass-kicking. To top it off, the guy was finally at her height. Her age, or at least around there.

Oooooh, if only she could get away with it… if only, if only, if only…

"Apparently, Lavana here uses Fire Magic." Mira chirped as she brought Gray his drink. The Ice Make Wizard stared at Lavana in mock-horror.

"Pink hair… Fire Magic… That damn Pyro is breeding clones! I knew it!" Lavana grinned madly as the dummy gave her a reason to sock him. Ahhh, that felt therapeutic. The pinkette didn't even have the decency to look the least bit apologetic as the raven-haired teen twitched at being punched in the face. Daddy would be proud! "What the hell?! How do you even know who I'm talking about?!"

"Oh, I've heard a thing or two…" Lavana grinned enigmatically, cheering very loudly on the inside. Scratch one more item off the bucket list – smack annoying Ice Prick without him hitting back.

"She's kinda right, Gray… Natsu isn't exactly anonymous. Not as big as me or Erza, but still pretty infamous." Mira giggled as Gray grumbled about 'stupid fangirls'… Lavana heard it of course and was going to smack him again, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Somebody said my name… Ya better be sayin' nice things."

Lavana couldn't contain herself. She leaped off her bar stool and pounced on her very youthful Daddy, hugging the stuffing out of him. Didn't even care that she was making a scene.

* * *

A few days later, a blonde Celestial Wizard was going to an address handed to her by some strange (but admittedly nice) boys that were playing at being ninjas. She was finally going to get to join Fairy Tail!

"Wow, it looks a lot nicer than I thought it would... They must be rich." Lucy Heartfilia muttered as she walked past the gate and straight to the front door of the luxurious mansion. There was a sign with the Fairy Tail symbol hanging above the entrance, so it musta been the place. Thinking she could walk right in, Lucy opened the door… and immediately regretted it.

Meanwhile, hidden in some bushes nearby, a pair of boys was cackling madly as Lucy's screams filtered even outside as she was chased around by those ugly, ape-like maids that the owner of the mansion employed. That's right. Chance and Chase had tricked Lucy and made her go to the Everlue Mansion instead of Fairy Tail.

"Was that not a tad cruel and unusual, Brother?" One of the 'masked' boys asked, turning to the other. Really, they were just using their scarves to obscure their faces. His brother did so in kind.

"Perhaps. But now we are avenged, and Father will not meet her in Hargeon! Ha-ha-ha!" They both let out boisterous laughter before taking back the 'Fairy Tail' sign and vanishing like the wind. But not before leaving another address card to Fairy Tail where Lucy would spot it.

Lucy would make it to Fairy Tail… y'know, eventually. There might be a few more embarrassing places to drop her off at first.

* * *

 **Author's Note: The crack is strong with this one… I hope you guys enjoy – it's not meant to be taken too seriously. I've seen a lot of Time Travel fics – and not just in FT. Most of the time they're serious and about fixing things/averting tragedies; maybe that'll happen here, too, _in part_. But there's also the… less-than-altruistic Time Travel stories. Case-in-point: 'A Slight Change in Time' by NeoShadows, which heavily inspired this. As this is a crackfic, I'll try focusing more on the humor of Natsu and Erza's kids doing what **_**they**_ **want, regardless of the consequences. There'll be matchmaking. There'll be pranks. And Erza will probably feel a tad jealous with Lavana hanging off of Natsu so often…**

 **So yes, loads of misunderstandings. I already feel sorry for poor Natsu… XD I don't quite know how many girls I'll rope into the harem, but I'm willing to bet it won't be an insane amount. Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Cana, (MAYBE) Levy, Ultear, Angel/Sorano, Kagura… Honestly, that might be it. Not to diss on others like Hisui, Ur, Yukino, Bisca, Sayla, Kyouka, etc., but the ones I listed are my own personal favorites when it comes to harems. A lot of readers wanted the harem to be bigger in Natsu's Choice; but because I'm not going to enlarge the harem in that fic, I'll just do a crackfic harem here. Because I need my jollies. :P**

 **For those curious, Enyo is technically a goddess of war, known for being a 'waster of cities'. It's supposed to be contradictory, 'cause this Enyo really is sweet and innocent. lol Erza was in charge of naming her, so feel free to guess when she possibly decided on the name... XD**

 **That said, onto the final topic: the OCs. I dunno how well they'll go over with you guys, so in the future I'll try to minimize their appearances, if that's what you guys would prefer. Ultimately, I just wanted Natsu and Erza's kids to be working behind the scenes – whether to save lives, shamelessly pair their father up with the ladies, or wreak general mayhem through pranks. That's just the kinda stuff I'd see Natsu and Erza's kids do. And ain't that fun for the canon characters? XD**


	2. Chapter 2

Locating the airship had been somewhat of a hassle – finding the sub-Guild that knew of that particular information had been a bit of a chore. Getting onboard seemed to be a bit of a breeze. After all… Kain was the one in charge of guarding the 'front door' on this day, so-to-speak. Clever use of disguises of Grimoire Heart grunts not only got them a pleasant greeting, but directions to the airship's extensive archive. No one would cruelly take advantage of Kain's dullard brain and raid Master Hades' private collection of tomes… right?

"Man… and to think Uncle Zeref wasted this place. Then again, he wasn't exactly 'sane'."

"I know! So many ancient texts! Aunt Levy's gonna nerdgasm when we bring this knowledge back!"

… Two guesses as to who had the balls to infiltrate Grimoire Heart headquarters. Only hint: No one currently at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.

"Oooh! The text for Azuma's Great Tree Arc Magic! And Rusty Rose's Arc of Embodiment!"

"Arc of Time, Maguilty Sense, Fire God Slayer Magic… I think Lav will be quite pleased with that one."

"'Course we'll have to charge our usual finder's fee."

"Of course."

That's right. Chance and Chase Dragneel had jumped from pranking Lucy Heartfilia to stealing copies of Master Hades' impressive collection of tomes related to Lost Magic amongst other priceless knowledge. They weren't stealing the books themselves – though they technically could. No, books could get destroyed, and would eventually degrade into nothingness – especially ancient texts like these. No, the twins were making use of a Lacrima to scan each book, which in turn stored the texts for future reading for all eternity. … Provided nothing happened to the Lacrima. But then again, the twins were surprisingly careful with this invaluable tool that was developed around X810.

Did they themselves necessarily need Hades' collection to be their collection, too? No. But knowledge is power, and even if they wouldn't pore over every tome, they'd eventually be able to find someone some egghead or another who geeked out at what they had in 'their' collection. And in turn, they could charge a modest nominal fee and make a decent profit. … Except Aunt Levy would get a discount, because the twins liked her best. Much of what they learned in terms of history and all that textbook-y stuff came from her. In turn, they used that knowledge as they saw fit. How else do you think they learned to mess with jail cell locks and break into steal scrolls heavily protected?

… Which was just _fun_ for everybody.

"Alright, what the hell are you two doing in here? No one's supposed to just waltz in here without the boss's go-ahead."

Chance and Chase kinda froze at being found out toward the end of their little… expedition. Much less by one of the most volatile of the Seven Kin.

"Uh… We're here on an errand for Ul…"

"Meredy! We're sort of new, and Mistress didn't tell us there was a procedure for coming here…"

The twins really began to sweat as Zancrow scrutinized them with his hands on his hips. Damn, this was nerve-wracking. Big Bro Simon told them about meeting with Makarov and how nervous he felt, but that had _nothing_ on talking to this loon. Makarov wouldn't burn you to cinders on a whim.

"… Yeah, sure sounds like the twerp. Tries to sound all smart, but she's still a brat when you get down to it." She also had a habit of receiving the newest of the recruits as her underlings because she was the most inexperienced of the Kin. The blond rolled his eyes annoyingly before smirking at the duo. "But Mistress? Really? Does she seriously make you call her that, or are you just trying to get into the brat's pants?"

Chance inwardly cursed as Chase's nasty little habit struck again… No, it wasn't as kinky as you were probably thinking. Buncha crudmunching perverts. Simply put, Aunt Meldy had pink hair like they and the rest of their siblings did. And even though she was married to the blue-haired emo bastard, she was still considered family. Calling her 'Mistress' was just Chase's way of showing respect since, well… their family was technically royalty. Dad being the son of Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons, and mom being the daughter of the 'Queen of the Dragons'. 'Course mom gave them an earful after hearing Chase call Meredy that at one point… Hounding them for where they heard that term.

Damn Aunt Levy and her choice of literature. They weren't perverts, they swear. … And oddly enough, Zancrow's snickering was _not_ helping.

"Ah, tell ya what. You caught me in a good mood." Zancrow snickered even as Chance did his very best to fry the annoying God Slayer with a withering glare that, strangely enough, did not penetrate the grunt mask he had 'borrowed'. "Alright, let's get you back to your 'Mistress'; that errand's gonna have to wait until she gets proper clearance. C'mon."

Chance and Chase dubiously followed the blond, wary that he might be leading them to Master Hades instead. And as Chase briefly exchanged a look with his twin… he knew that there would be a reckoning for making that slipup. 'Cause Chance was holding up a twitching hand that promised a good throttling in lieu of the glare that could not be seen.

… He really needed to do something about that nasty little habit of his.

* * *

"… Y'know, it's been awfully quiet lately."

"Jeez, ya don't say, Flames-for-Brains?" Gray dryly quipped at Natsu's 'astute' observation.

It'd been a couple weeks since Fairy Tail had some newcomers added to its ranks. Natsu had no problems with two of 'em; the older dude was nice, and they'd even gone fishing together a couple of times. Then the younger girl was so adorable that you just couldn't say 'no' to any of her requests… Natsu had already bought her over a dozen cookies, and even a strawberry cake. As much as that ate into Natsu's savings, he could get over it 'cause less money just meant more Quest-taking, which translated to more adventures. Natsu could get down with that.

The problem was the middle child…

"You know what I mean, Ice Prick! I haven't had, well… ya know… that one girl latched on my arm. In days." Natsu pointed out flatly, refusing to utter her name out of fear that she would indeed appear. Gray snorted at Natsu, once again, stating the obvious.

"So that's why I haven't been punched in the solar plexus in a while. It's been absolute bliss!" Gray twitched as the Pyro snickered at his expense. He shook a fist at the pink-head while a tick mark appeared on his forehead. "You wanna go?!"

"That's been the only great thing about her. I don't hafta hit you as much, 'cause she does it for me! She knows a stupid pervert when she sees one."

"That's it!" Gray roared as they erupted into a traditional Fairy Tail brawl, dragging everyone currently in the Guild Hall into their little quarrel.

Natsu kinda wished that Lavana was there for the simple reason that she would hold Gray down as he bashed a chair over his head. Ah, the joys of father and daughter bonding time. … Not that Natsu knew they were related. Yet.

"Hey, Natsu! What was with that love letter?! That was totally outta the blue!"

Instantly, all fighting stopped as every head turned to Cana, who was leisurely sitting at a table with one of her lovers- I mean barrels. The Hall became deathly silent to the point that one could almost hear Natsu blink…

"Wha? I didn't send you any letter." Natsu grumbled as he was about to punch Gray in the face again. He stopped mid-motion when Cana produced a frilly-looking envelope with heart stickers and Cana's name in neat cursive – its seal looking broke, indicating Cana had opened and read its contents. Natsu's eye developed a twitch as he told the drunk flatly. "I still didn't send that. Someone's tryin' to set me up."

Cana raised an eyebrow curiously.

"It's in your handwriting, though. I know 'cause I've seen it a number of times." The brunette then smirked playfully, indicating just how she felt about Natsu's 'confession'. "There's no need to play coy. We've been friends for years, so I guess I wouldn't mind if you took me out for a drink or two, see how it goes."

Natsu opened and closed his mouth in a horrified manner in an attempt to object to Cana's date proposal. It wasn't like he _disliked_ Cana or anything, but he really didn't send that letter. The Dragon Slayer wasn't concerned with finding a mate right now – he needed to find Igneel above all else. And unfortunately for him, his Guildmates had heard every word that Cana said.

"What the hell? I thought you were too stupid for a relationship, ya Pyro." Gray said from his position beneath Natsu. Frankly, he didn't care if he was in the inferior position at this point; screw the brawl, this was helluva lot more interesting. "… Or even know what one was."

"Hey! 'Course I know what those are, Stripper! Gramps gave us the same Birds and the Bees talk!" Natsu snapped out of his stupor just enough to kick his rival in the ribs before he went back to trying to weasel out of his… dilemma.

"Oh yeah…" Gray muttered. That had been a traumatizing experience. Of course with Master giving the talk, visuals were absolutely necessary. And no, that did not imply magazines. The Old Man turned his nose up at those, saying their first experience with the female body in its most holy state absolutely _had_ to be through real live examples… via Makarov's favorite peeping hole at the hot springs.

Well, Mira-chan ended up discovering them on their little… expedition. And regrettably this was in the days before she became a bubbly barmaid. So, y'know… traumatizing. But the Pyro didn't seem to outwardly react to peeping on the women, so Gray always figured he was too dense to be a pervert, despite bathing with Erza when they were younger. And thus too dense for something more complicated, like a relationship.

Apparently not…

"So do ya think Natsu actually fell in love with our Cana?" Wakaba asked as he watched the scene of Natsu comically opening and closing his mouth over and over in an attempt to say… _anything_.

Macao shrugged.

"Beats me. But if he did, good for him! Maybe taming the dragon just takes a feminine touch."

"Don't say that too loud, or Erza might smack ya." Wakaba chuckled, while Macao sweatdropped and looked about nervously. But as had been the tradition for the past several days… Erza had been absent from the Guild. And somehow the middle-aged man doubted it was because of an S-Class Quest.

Almost two weeks ago, Natsu had gone off on an 'Igneel Hunt' in Hargeon and wound up catching an imposter posing as him. Then a day or two later, Erza returned lugging in a… trophy… from her latest S-Class Quest, and demanded that Natsu and Gray help her take the Dark Guild Eisenwald down, after catching wind of their unsavory plans.

Oddly enough around that time, that Lavana girl had been acting even stranger than usual, and she gave an even more fangirlish reaction than the one she gave Mira. Needless to say, Erza was taken aback by the pinkette's enthusiasm, and was at a loss as for what to do or say. Well, Natsu, Erza, and Gray went off on that Eisenwald mission soon after that anyway, and then Lavana just… stopped showing up so frequently. Her siblings hung around the Guild still, but Lavana was conspicuously absent.

Then the triumphant trio returned, and Erza was 'arrested' for destroying the Guild Master Conference's meeting place, despite needing to go all-out to fight Lullaby, and Natsu technically did most of the damage on their end… Still. It was quite something to hear and see Natsu go off to save Erza from the Council's clutches. Even though he didn't need to, and all his efforts did was force the two of them to stay a night in a jail cell.

And Lavana was still off somewhere… But if anything, Erza's disappearance as of late was a bit more worrying. Who knew what she'd be like when she got back?

Off in his corner of the Guild Hall, Simon was running a hand down his face in exasperation while Enyo, bless her, was patting his back consolingly. Both of them knew full well who was really responsible for this… scene that Cana had made. Lavana might have orchestrated it all, but the pinkette really couldn't pull off a convincing forgery to save her life. But the twins could. As if she hadn't racked up enough debt with those diabolical twinned devils. Simon didn't even want to imagine the favors she owed them; 'cause that was their favorite kind of charge for their services. With the twins you weren't paying them money for things like this, oh no. That's too _commonplace_. Oh, there were times when they would charge money – largely to people who they _knew_ were loaded – but their favorite payment was favors. And more often than not, that translated to you being a scapegoat for whatever half-baked scheme that was in the works, whether it went off without a hitch or if it went horribly, horribly wrong.

Why did Lavana insist on tempting fate?

Simon sighed when he felt Master Makarov's inquisitive eyes on him. This had never come up, so obviously one of them was responsible for the… change. Simon would take the man aside and explain his sister's desire for her father to have a harem… But alas, there was no time. For things were about to get much worse before they got better.

"What is going on here?"

Many people froze in fright as the scarlet knight had finally returned. Imposing aura and all. It didn't help that Cana had taken some imitative and walked over to Natsu to hug him affectionately to her bountiful pillows. This was the scene that Erza walked in on, with Natsu's head buried in those plush mounds.

"Oh, nothing." The brunette teased even as the S-Class Wizard glared daggers into her. "Natsu just sent me a very touching letter, and we're gonna go out for a drink and see where it goes."

"Say WHAT?!" The redhead growled as a tick mark appeared on her forehead. The past few days Erza had largely avoided the Guild Hall to have some time to ponder the letter that Natsu had sent _her_.

It wasn't romantic, but he had explained that he was having trouble deciphering some 'weird feelings' he had when he was around her (her own eloquent words; Natsu had been a bit more… simple in his letter). Obviously Erza was caught off-guard by his unwitting admission that he just might have feelings for her. The redhead had come with the intention of finally explaining those feelings to him, and then… well, it wasn't quite turning him down, because Erza was honestly touched he had such feelings for her. On the other hand, she did need more time before starting a real relationship with him. There were some… things she needed to take care of first so that the pink-head wouldn't be endangered when they did start dating.

And now when she comes to gently break this to him, she finds out he's already moved on! … Or at least tried getting help from another girl – Cana in this case. For whatever bizarre reason, this fact combined with seeing the pink-head's head buried in Cana's chest tugged at her heartstrings.

"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt his feelings." Cana told the redhead confidently. "Natsu really is a catch. He just needs help sorting out his feelings."

Inwardly, Erza breathed a sigh of relief. So it really wasn't a 'romantic' letter that Cana received; she just took it that way because, well… Cana had been in relationships, and was probably curious if Natsu could manage to be romantic. Still.

"While that's very nice, Cana, I must insist you unhand him. Natsu sent a letter to me first, and as such he is _my_ responsibility." Erza told the brunette firmly, albeit with a slight growl still in her voice. The scarlet knight didn't seem to notice she was being a bit… possessive about her teammate and friend.

"What if I said no?" Cana taunted the knight a bit. She laughed as the tick mark seemed to intensify on Erza's forehead. "I believe the phrase, 'finders-keepers, losers-weepers'? You took too long in giving him an answer, but I answered promptly! I get my turn first!"

Instead of being concerned about Erza's growing ire, their Guildmates had shifted to forming a betting pool about which girl Natsu would end up with. Even Gray, who still doubted Natsu would develop any _real_ romantic feelings, put down a paltry amount on Erza. Hey, he wasn't gonna wager big bucks on the off-chance Cana managed to ensnare the Pyro. But he couldn't really see that as a likely possibility since Erza was… well, Erza. You just didn't defy her.

"Cana…" Erza seethed, on the verge of losing it as the brunette brought the Dragon Slayer ever closer to her in their 'embrace' (Natsu was kinda struggling to breathe, and so was tryin' to escape). "I respect you as a Guildmate, a mage, and a friend, but you _really_ don't have the best track record for relationships. I will say it one more time. Let. Natsu. Go."

"How about we just ask Natsu who he wants?" Cana 'suggested', confident Natsu had liked their 'intimacy'.

"Fine." Erza gritted her teeth.

On cue, Cana released Natsu, and the Dragon Slayer's head popped out of those bountiful pillows – his ears popping a bit, too, from the change in pressure. He took one look at Cana, then at the glowing red-eyed Erza. Then back to Cana. And then back to Erza. His choice clear, Natsu ignited his feet… and jetted over to a random wall and burst through it, hightailing it out of there.

"Do you see what you've done! You've terrified him!" Erza roared at the brunette, who only snorted back at the hypocrisy. _She_ terrified him? What about Miss Demonic Glowing Eyes? If anything, _that's_ what scared him off.

"You just stay here and I'll get him back. _You're_ the one that scared him off." Cana stated dully before taking a couple steps in the direction Natsu went. However, Erza Requipped into her flight armor and sent a great many swords the brunette's way, not a single one stabbing her. Yet Cana was now awkwardly plastered against a wall, swords preventing her from moving too much. "Hey!"

Erza smirked in satisfaction before flying after her dense, loveable Pyro. Maybe they'd have to wait on a relationship, but that didn't mean she couldn't stake her claim… That is, if he did have feelings for her. For some 'bizarre' reason, Erza was really hoping this to be the case.

As for the Guildmates watching this unfold, they were now setting up branching betting pools. 'Girl that would ensnare Natsu's heart', 'Who would win in this dirty fight for the Dragon Slayer', and 'Would Natsu even survive to date one of them'. Gray gleefully put money down for that last one, with a big fat 'heck no'. And with Mirajane helping Cana down, things might just get blown even more out of proportion… If she got involved with this chase, that is. And was that Levy pulling a very familiar-looking envelope out of her book? Hmm…

* * *

Well, Zancrow didn't take them to Hades. Thank Kami. Meredy was even kind enough to not blow their cover when the God Slayer grumbled about 'protocol' and all that with the Master's private study. But the moment the blond exited Meredy's quarters and went out of earshot…

"Alright, who are you two? I know I don't recognize either of you."

Again, Chance and Chase exchanged a look before turning back to her. When in doubt, bullshit your way out.

"We're, uh… We were actually sent by Ultear-sama! She wanted to refer back to a book, and, uh…"

"To check up on you!" Chance put the finishing touches on their latest cover story. "She's knows it's hard on you when she's away for long periods like this…"

The twins weren't sure why, but they really got this ominous feeling that something chanced in Meredy when they made this lie. It wasn't 'bad' per se, just… Chance probably shouldn't have laid it on thick like that. 'Cause while Meredy didn't outwardly change her expression…

"Really?! Oh thank goodness. I thought she'd forgotten about me, and…" Meredy started to ramble on and on about anything and everything Ultear-related. Like opening up floodgates, everything just came… gushing out uncontrollably. Now it was Chase's turn to twitch as Chance had done something unwittingly stupid. Now _he_ was due for a reckoning.

They'd just wanted to raid the library, plant an experimental weapon that the Council developed back in their time that they'd nicked, get the hell out of there, and detonate the weapon remotely. Not even they knew what it'd do. Would Grimoire Heart go out in a brilliant blaze, or would something much cooler happen?

… Meh. The twins supposed they couldn't leave poor Aunt Meldy to die with her idiotic, evil Guildmates. Maybe they'd get a few more favors from Lav if they brought her back to be in that 'harem' that dad would be having whether he liked it or not. And they supposed there was Uncle Capricorn to help out as well, since he was possessed by that dumbass servant…

Yeah. Sticking with Grimoire Heart for a bit wouldn't be too bad. Just as long as Aunt Meldy didn't have them paint her nails or do other girly stuff… Unlike back in their time, she had the power to do that here since she was, well… the boss of them for the foreseeable future. Damn it.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, I've still gotta work to the 'victims' perspective of this time travel crackfic, but I suppose it doesn't hurt having the Natza kids' thoughts a bit. I'm especially having fun with the twins, in case you couldn't tell. I've got quite the unique idea for what will happen to Grimoire Heart in the foreseeable future… So we're not** _ **faithfully**_ **traversing canon's timeline. Some things will still happen like they did originally, like the Eisenwald fiasco (minus Lucy, who was missing... Hmm. I wonder where she is now?)… others will be very, very different. lol**

 **I did wanna say that Levy will likely be remaining in the harem. I know some of you may object to that, but as one reader pointed out, she's an uncommon choice, and I'm kinda intrigued enough to try having her in it. And as pointed out here, Meredy may be added in, or at least as kind of a 'daughter' to Natsu and Ultear ('cause Ultear might not like her ward getting** _ **that**_ **comfortable with her dragon…). I** _ **might**_ **budge on Brandish… and Yukino. Though she depends on Sorano and how she will react. XD And I might at least bring Ur back from being a hunk of ice. That will depend on you guys, if you want to see that. Might set the stage for Ultear joining the harem.**

 **So to sum things up, the final harem will likely be: Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Cana, Levy, Ultear, Angel/Sorano, Kagura, Meredy-maybe, Brandish-maybe, and Yukino-maybe. All depends on how the story unfolds for the last three, but eight are fairly certain… :P I'm not going to add any others, because this is** _ **really**_ **more than enough. Poor Natsu's gonna need therapy for a while as his future daughter keeps stewing up trouble for him. XD Keep in mind this is a crackfic, and there might not be deep meaningful reasons for why Natsu ends up with each girl. Heck, I kinda like the approach one crackfic harem I remember reading a while back in the Naruto series, I think – some girls will just like being close to Natsu and hanging out with him. It might not be entirely romantic in nature, but it definitely won't be mere friendship either. These girls will not like sharing, but it's not as if they'll leave each other or Natsu much choice. For Natsu's part, he might like hanging out with some of 'em, too; others… he might be a bit intimidated by. XD Hope this will be as much fun for you guys as it will be for me. I need my jollies.**

 **I will repeat that I am not budging on anymore girls. Not even Edolas ones. Eleven's kinda pushing the 'outrageous number' I wanted to avoid for this harem, but in fairness… they's my favs. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu sweatdropped as he sat across from Loke in some random bar in Magnolia. How did he get there, you ask? Long story short: Girls. are. batshit. crazy. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Long story a little longer: Erza, Cana, and Mira were giving him a 'lively' jaunt through the city, trying to capture him for their own insane reasons. Loke, kindly saint that he was, swooped in and spirited him away to this hole in the wall joint to presumably save him from their clutches. To an extent, Natsu was correct in making that assumption.

… But only insofar. As Natsu was quick to horrifyingly discover.

"Natsu… I am so… proud." … Were the first words out of Loke's mouth after they had sat down. The orange-head quivered a bit as he raised a fist proudly and tears ran down his face in rivers. "I don't know how you did it, but you've scored with not one, not two, but _three_ of our hottest chicks! I've never seen them go after _anyone_ like that! Not even when Erza goes to punish people!"

Natsu nodded his head in annoyance.

"Y-Yeah…" Why did he get the distinct impression that he was not going to like where Loke was leading this conversation?

"Since you've obviously stumbled upon a secret womanizing technique that I myself have yet to discover…" The orange-head pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose stylishly. Glasses gleaming in the dimly lit room. "I feel it's only right that I lecture you on the fickle creatures that are women… so that you do not wind up a bloody smear on the wall by the end of the day."

"… Sooo… I hole myself up in my home for a few days, 'til this blows over? Siege defense style?" Natsu asked with the tiniest bit of hope. Hope that was dashed the second Loke began laughing.

"No! We're gonna turn you into a real lady's man."

"…" Natsu loved Loke like a brother, he did, but Loke was crazy if he thought that he was going to go anywhere near those girls for the foreseeable future. Erza wanted to 'protect' him or whatever… Cana wanted a date… and Mira… Mira… He wasn't quite sure what Mira wanted, but what he did know was that he would be steering clear of her, too. There was just some glint in her eye that he was suspicious of…

"Now, women are complex creatures… A lot of the time when they say, 'Nothing's wrong,' it means _everything_ is wrong, so what you do..."

Oh Kami… Loke was going through with it. Erza would kill him if any of this stuck. But on the other hand, if he went back out there… she'd kill him. Y'know, 'cause she was really trying hard to 'pin the swords on the Natsu' to get him to _stay put_.Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

* * *

"Alright, settle down!" Hades barked as the assembled grunts went on chattering away. When they showed no sign of acquiescing, a tick mark appeared on the aged man's head and he yelled at the top of his lungs. " **SILENCE!** "

At that, the room fell completely silent. Hades nodded in approval before commencing with the announcement.

"Now… As I'm sure many of you are aware, an opening has been made in the Seven Kin. Caprico went out on an assignment, and has not returned or communicated anything back. His subordinates were found severely injured, and have failed to account for their leader's disappearance. If he is ever seen again, orders are to exterminate him on sight." Hades coughed into his fist when murmurings started up again; everyone immediately became quiet again. "That all being said… None of you are adequate in replacing Caprico. As such, I have enlisted one of Ultear's greatest pawns to take up his position. Jellal Fernandes is now in charge of Caprico's former subordinates, and you will give him the same respect or you will be summarily executed… Dismissed."

As everyone went their separate ways, higher-ups like Zancrow whining about what a waste of time that was and Rusty Rose wondering if this Jellal would be able to stand with the elite, Meredy turned to the duo of subordinates that had quickly risen to become her favorites.

"… I dunno, you guys… I might not have had a problem helping out a Celestial Spirit, but this _was_ a pretty bold move… borderline treasonous."

"Relax, Mistress! Jellal is totally more qualified than Zoldeo was, anyway. All that guy cared about was getting his human body back; but I guess you could say that was an impossible dream."

"Yeah! He coulda betrayed us at any time if the moment aligned with his own personal goals. You did the Kin a favor by getting rid of him. Jellal's way more loyal, and ya know it for sure because of… y'know."

Meredy smiled tentatively as they made their way back to her quarters. Their logic was sound, and that was something she could appreciate. Being the boss to a bunch of brainless grunts got _sooo_ droll. But unfortunately, that was the majority of underlings she got because she was the most inexperienced of the Kin. These two were a really refreshing change of pace.

"Still… That blonde bimbo's presence was a bit too convenient… If we didn't have at least one Celestial Spirit on our side like she did, that would've backfired on us." Meredy droned with narrowed eyes. Chance and Chase were quick to rub the back of their heads.

"We've kinda had her going around all over Fiore, 'cause she's looking to join a Guild… Mistress Ultear didn't like us slacking off like that, so she sent us to you."

Meredy nodded in understanding. Yeah… That sounded like Ultear…

"Well, enough about that." The Maguilty user switched gears as they reached the sanctity of her quarters, where no one would bother them unless it was for an assignment or an emergency… "Now, what other novel ideas do you have for Gray Fullbuster?"

Truly, Meredy thought she was the undisputed master of concocting convoluted, ultimately unnecessary plans for the torture/drawn-out execution of Gray Fullbuster. Apparently not… These two underlings really had brains that she could admire.

"Well, since you liked dunking him in a mechanical shark tank while placing frayed electrical wires into the water…"

"And you _loved_ the idea of bending his pinkies back into custom-made vices while applying electric shocks to his eyeballs…"

"… Have we covered Operation Zulu yet?"

Meredy's brows furrowed.

"Zulu…?"

The twins shared devious grins. Oh goody. Maybe with Meredy's help, they could iron out some of the technical details. … And you can be assured that it is a convoluted, _very_ unrealistic plan when _they_ of all people haven't worked out the details fully. Gray should be thankful they have a nice sounding board in Meldy, or his torture would be even more gruesome as the twins freeze up and they 'don't know' how to continue on with the procedure or even know what to do to reverse the damage… Yeah…

Maybe Gray Fullbuster should just be afraid. Very, very afraid.

* * *

"ACHOO!" Gray groaned after sneezing three times harder than normal. The phantom reaction to his impending doom had propelled him off of his chair and onto the floor, garnering bemused stares from his Guildmates.

"Can't say I've heard a sneeze that powerful in a while." Macao mused as he rubbed his chin. "Either you're coming down with something, or somebody's thinkin' about ya."

Gray stood up warily and massaged his rump.

"That's only a myth!" The Ice Make mage retorted before turning back to the people placing bets. He couldn't believe how stupid everyone was being. So many were placing bets on these girls, and a fair amount was going toward the scarlet knight herself… But if they thought Natsu was going to live past today, they were sorely mistaken. There was no friggin' way. If by some miracle didn't kill him for whatever stupid thing he did, then he'd most certainly get caught up in the catfight of the millennium – Erza, Mira, maybe Cana… Come to think of it, Gray saw Team Shadow Gear depart a short while ago, but Gray chalked that up to them taking a Quest. There's no way Levy would get mixed up in this and force Jet and Droy to help her out… right?

… You know what they say, the truth can be stranger than fiction.

* * *

Cana sweatdropped as she briefly paused to look at the growing crowd that was gathering in the market district. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to assume Natsu would have to come by here eventually to get some food, since going to the Guild 'risked' coming into contact with her or any of the other girls for that matter. But even so…

This was just plain embarrassing.

"I was here first, ex-succubus!"

"Figures you would associate Natsu with 'food'! I bet all you know about him is that he likes to fight and that he loves to eat! It takes more to get to a guy than going through his stomach, Red!"

"HYPOCRITE! You're here, too, aren't you?!"

"To buy supplies to make Natsu a home-cooked meal! Even I know he's not gonna pop up here, 'cause he likes to FISH, y'know?! If he lives that far out, do you _really_ think he's gonna come here for food?!"

"… You're still trying to win him over with food."

"At least I can cook, Miss Barbarian!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

"I DIDN'T STUTTER!"

Cana sweatdropped again as this kept going on with the pair blissfully unaware of the crowd they were drawing toward them. The worst part was that they weren't even seriously hurting one another… they were childishly slapping one another in the face with both hands and growling as neither one was letting up. Now Mira, Cana could understand, 'cause she lost her Magic when Lisanna died. But Erza? She figured the redheaded disciplinarian would have conked out her 'rival' and moved on…

Yeah. Apparently not the case here. Erza probably felt too guilty about using excessive force on the 'powerless' Mirajane, and so descended to the silver-haired barmaid's childish level. Though if this 'fight' was any indication, Mira was a lot more durable than she let on, 'cause Erza had donned her Heart Kreuz Armor again, and Cana knew from personal experience how painful it could be to be struck by those gauntleted hands.

But moreover, this just dealt a massive blow to their own reputations right here. Damn.

"You're not even hair-pulling or ripping off your clothes… C'mon, be women!" Cana grumbled and shook her head in disapproval. If these two wanted to waste time making fools of themselves, all the better for her. Which is to say… all the more cuddle time for her and Natsu…

Just as the brunette returned to her searching, she spied a lost and forlorn tomcat of the blue variety. Probably looking for his Pyromaniac of a buddy to help him escape. Of course the Drunk of Fairy Tail caught him by the tail with a mischievous smirk on her lips.

"Hello, Happy!" Cana greeted pleasantly… and of course the blue tomcat seemed quite fearful of her.

"I-I dunno where Natsu is! You 'n Erza scared him off!" Happy panicked. The brunette kindly ignored the jab at her.

"That's okay. We don't need to search fruitlessly for him anymore." Cana didn't drop her smile as she held Happy firmly in place. The blue cat blinked dumbly at the drunk's abrupt decision.

"We don't?"

"Nope!" Cana chirped, which seemed to put the cat a little at ease. But then her next few words had him on high alert again. "You're gonna take me to where Natsu lives!"

"Wh-Why would I do that?!" Happy spluttered. "Nobody knows where we live 'cause it's a _secret_!"

Cana merely grinned smarmily and panned the cat's gaze over to a nearby stall. Instantly, Happy began to shamelessly salivate.

"Take however many you want… All on my tab." Cana whispered sultrily into Happy's ear, and the cat's drool increased exponentially.

"So… much… fiiish…" Happy moaned as he looked at all the succulent varieties laid out for him to devour. Cana patted his head and brought out a net with her Card Magic. A _big_ net. Capable of holding _a lot_ of fish.

Happy wailed internally at betraying his partner, but there was no way he was gonna be able to resist this. Maybe if it was one… or… or two fish… But for Cana to offer an all-you-can-eat? Happy shuddered pleasurably at the mere thought. Selling out your best pal for a load of fish is a new low, but everyone has their Achilles Heel.

* * *

The sun had set by the time Natsu stumbled out of that bar, eyes glazed and frothing at the mouth. Loke's 'lecture' had lasted _all day_ and he _still_ had more crap to 'impart' to his 'protégé'. Though apparently, that could wait for another day, since it seemed Natsu was overloaded with information at the moment…

Yeah. Add Loke to that list of 'people to avoid like the plague for the foreseeable future'. Natsu might be dim-witted when it comes to complicated textbook-y stuff, but he wasn't _stupid_. He'd seen Loke get beaten to a pulp by Erza for half that crap. That wasn't Erza 'playing hard to get' – that was Loke being suicidal.

"Well, at least I should be able to walk home now…" Natsu grumbled under his breath as he walked through the streets of Magnolia. There was no way that Erza, Mira, 'n Cana were still out lookin' for him. That would go way beyond obsessive.

A few days in the woods, hangin' out with Happy, would give the girls enough time to cool down and forget this insanity. And if it didn't… He'd just swoop into the Guild, grab a few dozen Quests from the board, and run like the hounds from Hell were on his heels… which they would be.

Before Natsu could get too comfy with dreaming up his 'escape' plans, however, the pink-head soon found his arms ensnared by the unexpected duo that was Jet and Droy.

"Jet?! Droy!? Where he hell are you taking me?!" Natsu demanded with bulging eyes, as he could escape from their ironclad grip.

"Just shut it and come with us!" Jet groused as they dragged him along. Droy nodded firmly.

"Yeah! I dunno what you did, but Levy wants to see you! If you hurt her, you're gonna pay…"

Natsu twitched as they brought up the third member of their little team… Levy hadn't been a part of the chase, though that could just be because she wasn't a physical fighter like the other three girls. Recruiting Jet and Droy to go to the trouble of fetching him certainly seemed like the bookworm using the 'resources' at her disposal.

Damn, Natsu hoped this wasn't the case… Though he had this horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach…

"Thanks for going through all that trouble, guys!" Levy chirped after they dragged the valiantly struggling Pyro all the way to Fairy Hills. Apparently, she'd been anxious enough to be standing outside the building and pacing when they arrived.

"I'm FREE!" Natsu cackled once Jet and Droy loosened their grip on his arms, but Levy was quick to act as she used her Solid Script Magic to club him bluntly over the head, effectively knocking him out.

"You guys can go home, sorry for the hassle!" Levy beamed at her teammates before grabbing Natsu by the ankles and dragging him into Fairy Hills, exerting visible effort as she did so.

"But Levy, we can help you!" The two fanboys pleaded, though Levy shook her head and continued to smile pleasantly.

"No boys allowed." She replied back in a sing-song voice, nearly getting Natsu through the entrance.

"But Natsu's a boy!" Jet objected.

"No he's not! He's a man!" Levy giggled before slamming the door and locking it, leaving a very dazed and lost pair of fanboys on Fairy Hill's doorstep. A pair of fanboys that quickly became very… very… jealous…

Well, the hardest part was taken care of – snagging Natsu. You might think that Levy's challenges were only beginning, now that she'd dragged Natsu into Fairy Hills where Erza enforced the rules strictly… But the scarlet knight had been missing all day, and by this time of night all the other girls were either turned in for bed or out somewhere, like Cana. So Levy felt no shame or fear when she dragged the unconscious Dragon Slayer through the halls until she got to her room. Once there, she was home free, and she gleefully tossed the Dragon Slayer into her room and onto her bed after opening the door. Then she slipped into the room herself, looking all directions out into the hall before quietly shutting her door and bolting it.

Levy breathed a sigh of relief now that the ordeal was over with. Erza was still MIA, and Cana and Evergreen hadn't returned yet from… whatever they were doing at this time of night. No witnesses. All that was left was to smuggle Natsu out of Fairy Hills in the morning, but that was a looong way off, at least if Levy McGarden had anything to say about it.

Turning back to look at the slumbering Dragon Slayer, Levy couldn't help but blush at how… _cute_ he looked. Sure, it had made Levy guilty to use brute force to get him to come inside, but that was only because he was trying to make things difficult! It wasn't what it seemed like… mostly. Okay, so Levy might have a teeny, _tiny_ crush on the rose-haired mage, but this really wasn't about hooking up with him! Honest! Poor Levy wasn't bold enough to kidnap him for that kinda thing…

… Let's start at the beginning. So, from what Levy gathered, various girls in the Guild had received letters from 'Natsu', including the Solid Script mage herself. Levy didn't see the others' letters to be sure, but she'd wager they were identical, save for maybe a slight change in wording here and there depending on the girl 'he' was addressing. And of course the letters were sent out on different days; if Erza's absence from the Guild was any indication, she'd received hers way before Levy or Cana got theirs, and Levy was also pretty sure that Mira had got one, too, since she joined in on the hunt for the Dragon Slayer…

What got Levy curious was the Magic used in creating the forgeries. And yes, Levy was well aware they were forgeries. As a fledgling writer, translator, and devoted reader, the bluenette would be ashamed of herself if she accepted her letter's contents at face value. Forget it not being Natsu's style to do something like this, the letter reeked of mischief for the Fire Dragon Slayer in the middle of all this. Moreover, the Magic involved in forging Natsu's writing seemed like something really similar to the fledgling idea that popped into her head a couple years ago, but subsequently scrapped when she thought of the negative ramifications for such a Spell. It could've been the work of another Script mage; they were hardly uncommon in Fiore, but the formula used was a bit too reminiscent of her idea… Levy believed there was an answer for everything, but the one for this conundrum evaded her…

Levy cleared her head and got dressed into her night gown. She doubted talking to Natsu would shed much light on the issue at hand, but at the very least she could reassure the rose-haired mage that she wasn't like Erza, Mira, and Cana, who wanted the Dragon Slayer for… very questionable reasons. Who knows? Maybe he could join Team Shadow Gear for a Quest or two in the morning, and he could get away from the madness. Levy certainly wouldn't mind getting to know the Pyro more. He'd sort of been a big brother figure to her when she first joined Fairy Tail, protecting her from bullies before Jet and Droy took more active roles in her life. It probably wasn't a big deal for him, since he was hanging around Lisanna more back then, and of course there'd been Erza and Mira, but his protective gestures had meant the world to her.

"Maybe I'll just… take a nap for a bit…" Levy blushed as she inched into her bed, being very cautious to not stir Natsu, who was still knocked out. If Erza or any of the other girls didn't mind his presence in Fairy Hills, they'd probably just say to place him on the floor and he'd be fine; but Levy thought that would be too cruel, seeing as how she was the one who forced him in here. Subconsciously, Levy wrapped her arms around one of Natsu's and snuggled up close to him with a blissful smile on her face. Also unknowingly, she murmured, "What if we were to stay like this forever…?"

Then, she, too, drifted off to sleep. Natsu's body heat was _very_ relaxing…

* * *

Lavana smirked as she watched these events unfold through a Lacrima that was attuned to Natsu and wherever he went. The pinkette was lying on the top bunk of her and Enyo's bed, kicking up her legs casually as she rested her head in her hands and gazed at the Lacrima. She was pleasantly surprised with Levy being the first girl to nab her Daddy; sure, she'd been rooting for Erza, but the Solid Script mage really needed a confidence boost. Even in their time, Levy was a bit of a mismatch with her Iron Dragon Slayer husband. Of course they loved each other, but Gajeel could be aloof at the best of times. It took time for him to realize when he was giving Levy the cold shoulder when he was so absorbed in going on tough jobs.

"But Daddy doesn't have that problem." Lavana giggled softly to herself as she thought on all the past times she could recall when Natsu would make time to converse with the more 'timid' girls, like Lisanna, Miss Yukino, and Wendy-neechan. She looked down from the edge of the bed when she heard rustling of sheets below her.

"Sis…? What's goin' on…?" Enyo sleepily muttered as she rubbed her eye. Lavana smiled down at her.

"I'll tell you about it in the morning. Tomorrow's gonna be another lively day!" The pinkette was banking on it.

"When's Wendy-neechan going to come to the Guild? And Lisanna-neechan?"

Lavana frowned at the thought of the latter. Wendy was easy enough, as she was with some fake Guild around the Worth Woodsea, but Lisanna…

"Don't you worry! Your brothers and I will be on the case!" Lavana beamed down at her sister reassuringly before maneuvering around up top and laying the Lacrima by her head before she tried to go to sleep herself. She could watch Natsu and Levy laying like that for hours, but she wanted to be wide awake for the next day. Mommy would be staking her claim, and Lavana wanted to watch every minute of that.

Never mind the plans she'd already set in motion for Kagura coming to Fairy Tail… It wouldn't be long before the Tower of Heaven debacle – okay, maybe they were maybe a month off from that… at least in the original timeline… - and the swordswoman should be present when they rescue her brother. Buuut, since they were changing so much, why not rescue Simon and the others early? And if events just 'happen' to line up where Daddy saves Simon…

Best not to make Kagura wait. Really.

* * *

Erza Scarlet was not a happy camper when she trudged into Fairy Hills the next morning. She'd feverishly scoured the city all night looking for the Dragon Slayer, while the ex-succubus called off her own search in favor of starting early the next day. Perhaps the scarlet knight should have done the same, but if there was the slightest chance she would stumble upon Natsu before those other two harlots…

Erza stopped as she noticed the slightest trail of drool on the floor. It wasn't her own – she doubly checked – so the knight decided to follow the trail as much as she could. When the trail reached its end, so to speak, Erza spotted a white scarf on the floor. A white… scaly… scarf… The knight instantly saw red.

And wouldn't you know that it was right outside Levy's door, to be exact. Hmmm. Seemed the best place to start looking.

"Natsuuu… If you're in there, come and face your Punishment!" Erza scowled and pounded on the door with her gauntleted fist. The bunched-up scarf was in her other hand.

Needless to say, the ruckus jerked both Natsu and Levy into consciousness. Both mages blushed at their close proximity, but Natsu quickly transitioned into Panic Mode when he heard Erza's voice from the hallway, as well as her increasingly harsh knocking. His wide eyes panned over to Levy one more time before his eyes caught sight of the window.

No sooner had he done that much than did Erza violently bust the door down and catch sight of their 'scandalous' position in bed.

"NATSUUU!" Erza growled lowly with glowing, soulless red eyes and flailing red hair. There was an imposing aura surrounding her, too.

"Sorry, Levy, but I gotta _go_!" Natsu shouted out in distress before leaping to the window in one fell swoop and cracking it open just enough for him to slip through. Naturally, Erza was just as fast as she caught him by the vest, but alas… Natsu decided he preferred _living_ to keeping his vest on, so he slipped out of the sleeves and made a break for it once his feet hit the ground. He was confused as hell, but Natsu Dragneel had good survival instincts. Regardless of the situation… Erza catching him: **Baaad**. Him slipping through her fingers: **Good**. That's all he cared about right now.

Of course, Erza was not one to just let a target slip away like this. She harshly punched the window, shattering it completely before she donned her Flight Armor to give chase.

"COME BACK, COWARD!" The scarlet knight roared as she flew after him without so much as an apology to Levy. The Solid Script mage sweatdropped as she watched them go until they became dots in the distance. Damn. She hadn't meant to get Natsu in trouble like that…

And then the bluenette pouted. She hadn't gotten to talk to Natsu like she wanted to. They'd just slept… in the same bed… all night.

Welp. Levy's face was the same color as Erza's hair now.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hehehe… Finally got off my rump to get this out. It's only been… two months? Ehehehe… *sweatdrop***

 **I know what I wanna get into next time. Am I unimaginative for tracing canon at this point? Eh. Things will be changing soon enough. Might as well get this small stuff outta the way, 'cause once we hit the ground running… we** _ **run**_ **. lol So yeah, next time we get into Galuna and get Ur-chan sorted out… Hehe. I'm undecided how I wanna get her back to normal. Do I go the Kjblau route and have Gildarts do it, or do I get a Natsu-Ultear Arc of Time combo to do the trick? …** _ **Probably**_ **going to do the latter. I know both options have been done in fanfiction, but with Ultear-chan being on Galuna anyway, I might as well just use the resources already provided. Things are crazy enough without Gildarts spontaneously popping by. :P**

 **Update on the harem! Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Cana, Levy, Ultear, Angel/Sorano, Kagura, and now I'm throwing in the lovely Sayla-chan… If you must know, I blame my PM thread with Tempest35 for this addition. But that's it, I'm not adding anymore girls… Sorry, Juvia-chan. :P I will say Meredy, Brandish, and Yukino are all still maybes, so there's no need to worry about them. Simply listed the for-sure girls.**

 **Y'all don't have to worry about Lucy, those of you who don't mind her. As always, my stance is that I'm against the pairings and not the characters. This applies to both Jerza and Nalu. I might not like Lucy very much because I see her more as a damsel-in-distress kind of character instead of an action-y one like Erza, but I don't** _ **hate**_ **her, per se. She does have some pretty cool Spirits… like Capricorn…**

 **Speaking of that Sea Goat… I had a recent plot bunny hop into my pen – just yesterday, in fact… The premise is that basically, the Gate Keys get shuffled around a little, with Leo/Loke winding up in Layla's possession instead of Capricorn. The Sea Goat instead winds up, eventually, in… Natsu's hands? Yeeeah, I was off my rocker when this sprang to mind, but I can't get the thought of Natsu having a butler out of my head… Buh-bye, ill-manners. XD**

 **Of course Erza wouldn't like Capricorn muscling in on her turf when he tries to teach Natsu more in reading and writing… But Natsu likes it, 'cause he's not as traumatized. Ahhh, this idea would highly entertain me, but I'm gonna keep it at bay for the time being because… yeah… I already got enough on my plate. :P**

 **And for those still asking about the collab with Tempest35, it's still in the works. Not giving up on it. We're both still very interested in a Natsu-in-Oracion-Seis AU… :D Hope you enjoyed this a little.**


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu Dragneel moodily slumped over the bar counter the day after he woke up in Levy's bed. If he thought two days ago was hell with the girls chasing him, yesterday was even worse. When he bolted from Fairy Hills, Erza had caught up to him despite his head-start, and she didn't even bother to ask for his side of the story before punishing him by making him do… _**That**_ … Natsu sure as hell didn't know what was going on either, but it was still the _principle_! Erza just assumed he was up to something naughty with Levy, and had vented on him accordingly.

If that wasn't bad enough, when Natsu dragged himself home after being made to do _**That**_ , he came home to a pitifully moaning Drunk, who desperately yearned for alcohol… of which there was none in his and Happy's abode. She'd basically waited there for a little over twenty four hours, lying in wait to drag him who knows where, and she had the gall to beg him to give her booze?! Moreover, Happy had revealed their home's location to the en… to Cana, so there would be no stopping the spontaneous visits now. Worst case scenario: he'd hafta build a new house in another location. That was the only way to save the last vestiges of his sanity now. Ohhh, Natsu was pissed. But he'd had his good yell about it; to Erza for her unjust treatment, to Cana for invading his home, and to his idiotic Guildmates for 'benefitting' from his misery – aka, the betting pools. The Dragon Slayer held back from lashing out at Levy and Happy – his blue buddy because Cana had taken advantage of his major weakness, and Levy because, well… Once she explained why she'd 'kidnapped' Natsu in the first place, he couldn't stay mad at her, no matter how unorthodox her methods were for trying to have a chat with him.

… Fairy Tail was understandably a much gloomier place for the past twenty four hours. Everyone realized too little too late that they'd pushed Natsu too far; this wasn't him just being a 'baby' about it. He was more or less karma's bitch for the past twenty four hours, and they'd foolishly gone along with it. They weren't totally at fault; those letters that 'Natsu' sent out had greatly confused them all. However, they did… overreact, even by their laissez faire standards. And for that, they were properly humbled in the face of a moody Natsu. Approaching him to apologize yielded… less than a desirable result. For most people, like Master, Gray, Macao, basically all the people involved in the betting pools – Natsu either grumped at them or wouldn't say a word in response. Cana… was given the cold shoulder, as was Mira, honestly, but he treated them about the same as most people. Frankly, Happy and Levy were about the only two who were unofficially allowed to approach him, and even then he was a man of few words to them.

Erza, on the other hand… Well. Out of everyone, she had the most reason to apologize to the Dragon Slayer – and she did, quite profusely when Levy told her what really happened. Hell, she even pleaded Natsu to strike her _several_ times, but it was like he ignored her very existence. From Natsu's perspective, there was nothing _to_ say. He was the angriest with her, and he'd already yelled at her about it, way before Levy filled her in. All he got was a comment about how he should have 'thought' before doing something indecent with Levy.

… Yeah. Erza knew she screwed up now, but Natsu was in no mood to mend bridges, and the scarlet knight knew he had every right to be cross with her. She'd halfheartedly offered to take him on a job – totally free of transportation, no matter how far they had to go – but Natsu shot her down instantly, and quite acidly. Erza had since given him space, though it was hard for her to just watch Natsu act so unlike himself. Hell, she'd allow the next several Guild brawls if he would just… smile. Even just a small one! Oooh, Erza was in a state of severe self-loathing right now. Of course she didn't regret being the disciplinarian of Fairy Tail; they all needed someone badly to maintain _some_ sense of order in all their crazy daily affairs. However, that didn't mean she was above making mistakes. Hell, 'mistake' was putting this situation lightly. Erza Scarlet had fucked up, and she was at a total loss for what to do. And like a coward, she took an S-Class mission to brainstorm just how to approach Natsu…

And if you thought Erza was bad off…

"This wasn't supposed to happen…" A storm cloud hung over Lavana's head as she sat at a table with Simon and Enyo. … No explication required, really. Her shenanigans did more harm than good. That's all there was to it.

"Now do you see why it may not be so good to change the timeline?" Simon patted his sister's shoulder consolingly. Lavana meant well… sort of… At this point, there was no other way to have the girl learn her lesson; Lavana could be just as stubborn as their parents combined. Now they could work to fix this, and…

"Shaddup. I'm already working on a solution; I just hate seeing them like this." Lavana muttered into her arm as she lay slumped on the table. Simon froze at that declaration. She was… already…

"The solution is just in your head, though, right…?" Simon pressed urgently. Lavana gave a muffled snort.

"You wish."

Before Simon could question this ominous response, Makarov came down the stairs with a flier in hand.

"Natsu! I've got a mission for you." Predictably, Natsu was still mopey.

"Don't wanna." The Dragon Slayer grumbled, but he soon yelped as Makarov used his Titan Magic to yank the pink-head's ear.

"Boy, I know we wronged you! For now, pull yourself together – I'm being serious. Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich requested _you_ specifically, and the Quest is filed under S-Class!" Makarov nodded at the Dragon Slayer's wide, shocked eyes. He'd about had a heart attack when he saw Natsu tasked for an S-Class assignment on the cursed Galuna Island, but when a member of the Council requests something, it's really best to just comply and get it over with. Not to mention Makarov couldn't turn down the _sexiest_ member of the Council…

*cough* Anyway.

"You're serious, Gramps?!" At Makarov's confirmed nod, Natsu leaped off his bar stool excitedly. But before he could get too far, Makarov, again using Titan Magic, caught the Dragon Slayer by the scruff of his scarf.

"Now wait just a minute! I cannot keep you from taking this Quest, Natsu, but I _can_ order you to take someone along with you." He stared at the Dragon Slayer deadpan when Natsu gave him a wounded look. "This is for your own safety. The Quest is on Galuna Island, which currently seems to be cursed. Due to the mischief we gave you the past couple days, I won't make you take an S-Class Wizard, but I want you to take at least one other Wizard along with you for backup. Be happy I'm not forcing any other restrictions than that."

Natsu reluctantly dropped his scowl as Gramps revealed his reasoning. He supposed Gramps was just being cautious, though Natsu wasn't afraid of no curse. He really wasn't. Erza was always babying him when she wasn't unfairly punishing him, and he wanted to find out what S-Class missions were like! He still had a bad taste in his mouth from the time the Strauss Siblings went on one without him and Lisanna died… In some ways he still blamed himself for her death.

While Natsu ruminated, the Guildhall had grown quiet as they listened in on the conversation. Natsu? Requested for an S-Class Quest? This was way too surreal! … But it did seem legit.

"Well, look at that! Natsu gets to go on his first S-Class Quest." Wakaba mused. Granted, neither he nor Macao had been on one, but Natsu had pretty good potential! He figured the Dragon Slayer would reach S-Class someday soon; he'd been training hard to catch up to Erza – and Mira, back when she was taking assignments.

"Maybe he'll pick one of us to support him…" Macao seemed excited by the prospect, though Wakaba snorted in disbelief.

"Yeah, sure… right after we bet he'd wind up with Erza." Wakaba rolled his eyes as Macao slumped in defeat at that reminder.

"Natsu's a Real Man for getting an S-Class job!" Elfman muttered to himself. And all around the Guildhall, various mages were murmuring along similar lines. Though some were frustrated…

"Why's Flamebrain getting special attention? You'd think he'd be treated as a joke after that stunt in the courtroom." Gray muttered aloud, though he was quickly reprimanded by Cana with a slap to the back of the head.

"Don't be jealous! You pull crap all the time, too, with that stripping." The brunette blinked as she stared at the Ice Make mage incredulously. "… Where are your clothes?"

How did you miss someone stripping right beside you in the time it took you to say fourteen words? _How_?

Gray exasperatedly huffed and went about searching for his clothes. Across the hall from them, Mira had a worried look in her eyes as she looked to Natsu. She knew that she should place her trust in the Dragon Slayer to get the job done, but… after what happened to Lisanna… The silver-haired barmaid shook her head. She really didn't want to follow that train of thought. He'd make it back! He had to. Plus, he'd have support, so…

"Alright, fine… I'll take… Levy. C'mon, Happy! We gotta pack!" Natsu cheered as he bolted out of the Guild, leaving an unsurprising majority of shocked Guildmates in his wake. Levy was flustered he'd choose _her_ of all people, and then there was poor Master Makarov, whose jaw now touched the floor as he stared after Natsu's dust trail. That shock did not go away as Natsu just as quickly backed up and jogged in place next to Levy. "We, uh… hafta take a boat from Hargeon… don't we…?"

At Levy's timid nod, Natsu sighed miserably and told the bluenette to be ready to go in an hour. They'd meet up back here at the Guild. He then took off for real.

… There was still many a flabbergasted mage left in that Guildhall. And a smug-looking pinkette, who looked like she was about to be interrogated by her elder sibling…

* * *

"Do you think Simon's gonna be pissed about us messing with Galuna's events?"

"I 'unno. He's the one that wants to 'save people' and all that while we're here. He should be thankin' us if it works out."

"That's kinda what I meant… there's still an 'if' there, 'cause Arc of Time…"

"Yeah…" *Beat.* "… Still totally worth it. Ultear-chan is hot!"

"Ultear-chaaan!"

* * *

We all know how this goes. Natsu, Happy, and Levy go to Hargeon and find out that nearly nobody wants to go near Galuna; but Bobo takes them, and Ultear is there to greet the trio when they arrive on the island.

… Wait a second…

"Are you that Councilwoman we're supposed to meet?" Happy asked cutely, to which the dark-haired mage raised an inquisitive brow at the Dragon Slayer.

"I don't believe I said you could bring others…?" The question was posed disinterestedly, though Natsu could perceive a hint of annoyance in that tone.

Natsu shrugged haplessly.

"Gramps said the island was cursed and that I should bring backup; don't worry! Levy's real smart. She can probably work the curse out while I do… whatever you want me to do." Natsu grinned, and Levy meekly waved at the Councilwoman, the bluenette looking none too thrilled to be on a supposedly cursed island. Natsu gestured to the blue tomcat next. "And Happy's my best friend! We go everywhere together."

"Aye!"

There was a stretched, tense moment of silence as Ultear stared at the unorthodox trio. The cat she could probably tolerate, but the girl was just another mouth to silence when this was all over. She didn't know how those two dumbass hostage-takers had acquired that personal information about her past, but they were absolutely spot-on about her Arc of Time working on Iced Shell in at least restoring it to the state it was in before Lyon Vastia and his cronies began melting it with Moon Drip. She was distrustful from this point forward, however, because Arc of Time seemed to have no effect in reversing what her mother did to herself with this Spell. And Ultear was well aware that it was because Arc of Time had _no effect_ on living things. The fact alone that it restored the ice to its pristine form was enough to make her livid that those two were quite likely lying.

However… regardless of how _illogical_ it was to even make this attempt, Ultear could not deny that Dragon Slaying Magic was a rare art. It wasn't like Requip, or Ice Make, or any other common type of Magic one could name. What added to the significance was that Natsu was a First Generation Dragon Slayer; he wasn't like Makarov Dreyar's grandson, who had a Dragon Lacrima implanted in him – that was the more 'common' way to acquire Dragon Slaying Magic these days. If Natsu had some aspect of his Magic that Ultear was unaware of, then he could quite possibly help in bringing her mother back.

… Only to be killed, mind you. That's the whole reason Ultear was doing this. She was elated at the prospect of bringing her mother back, mind you, but that witch needed to be properly killed for choosing those _bastards_ over her own daughter. Once that was done, Ultear would kill the Dragon Slayer and his companions, and then be on her way. That was the **plan**.

"… Very well. Let's be going." Ultear replied tersely and turned on her heel, not in the in mood for small talk. Natsu, Happy, and Levy trailed after her moments later. This client was an impatient one, though Levy could hardly blame her, if this was supposedly about saving her mother.

Ultear led them around the village walls and to a path that would take them to the temple. Happy voiced his confusion, of course, but the young Milkovich really wasn't in the mood for explaining. Like… at all. When they reached the cave entrance that would lead them directly to Iced Shell, the bluenette got distracted by some ancient writing, and Natsu told her to just stay back and translate the writing; maybe she could work out the curse. He also told Happy to stay behind with her and help her out if there was any trouble.

Ultear snorted lightly at that – there wasn't going to be any more trouble, save for her when this was all over. She'd sent Lyon and his goons packing after those two hostage-takers contacted her and proved that Meldy was indeed with them. Sure, she had to get 'a little' serious to fight them all off, but it was really nothing. Not for her, the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. It especially helped that Lyon brat was one of her… _replacements_. Ultear reveled in chasing him off. Probably would have killed him, too, but Ultear decided she'd save that for later.

The Arc of Time mage was a little more approachable with the two tagalongs left behind for the time being. Just a little, though. The Dragon Slayer was surprisingly amusing when he pulled that stunt in Era the other day… And that heat he exuded. Oof. It was shame he'd have to die after this was over…

"… What's with the monster?" Natsu asked warily as the two of them entered the chamber holding Iced Shell. For indeed, the Demon Deliora was held within, looking imposing as ever.

"That is the Demon Deliora from the Book of Zeref." Ultear revealed, and wasn't surprised when Natsu was instantly put on guard. "My mother died to seal it in this – Iced Shell. … Well, I suppose to put it more accurately; she's not _dead_ , as I hope to soon find out… She _became_ Iced Shell, which merges her very soul with ice. The reason I brought you here is to reverse that and return her to her human form."

Natsu narrowed his eyes as voiced the primary concern on his mind.

"What about the Demon, then? I'm not saying we shouldn't try to defrost your mom, but the whole point was to seal this guy, right?"

Ultear placed a hand on her hip as she gazed at the Dragon Slayer. Well, despite his reputation, Natsu Dragneel did have a good head on his shoulders. Then again, fighting the Demon known as Lullaby not even a week ago, Ultear couldn't blame him for being cautious. He was alone, save for the tomcat and the Solid Script user – oh, don't raise your eyebrows, _of course_ she thoroughly researched the Guild her _replacement_ joined. She was not obsessed with revenge.

 _'Plus, if he doubts that I'll help to take down Deliora, I'll be even more impressed…'_ Ultear mused thoughtfully before shaking her head. "Iced Shell isn't just a 'prison', Natsu. Whatever it entraps, it eventually kills off; and since Deliora has been trapped for the past ten years, I imagine it's either dead or on its last legs. This Spell is that powerful."

Natsu tilted his head and thought it over. He had no reason to trust this woman, especially with her being part of the Magic Council. The Council tried to convict Erza on a totally false charge! … But… he was a Dragon Slayer. Increased perception, y'know? He wasn't a perfect judge of character, but he wasn't as naïve as people made him out to be a lot of the time. He liked to believe in people – give them a chance when hardly anyone else would. Fairy Tail drilled that kind of mindset into you, 'cause what were they, if not a patchwork quilt of a family? But here he was… still unsure about this woman. He got mixed signals from her and her intentions.

"… What would you need me to do?" Natsu opened his eyes and straightened his head as he looked at her. Ultear tilted her head at him curiously; he was considering it, then?

"My primary Magic is Arc of Time," Ultear began to explain as she materialized a single Lacrima orb in her free hand. "It's useful for many things, but for our purposes here, it can revert the state of things. For example, if an object becomes damaged, I can literally undo the damage no matter how severe it may be. Ideally, I would use Arc of Time on Iced Shell, but there's a problem – this Magic does not work on living things. You were… _recommended_ to me by an acquaintance; they seem to think you can somehow make Arc of Time work this once."

As Ultear wrapped up explaining things and stared at the Dragon Slayer pointedly, Natsu rubbed his head in aggravated contemplation. Okay, so there was a lot he still didn't get – like whoever the heck recommended him – but now he kinda understood why she had this impression that he could help. Didn't make his job easier, but… What ya gonna do?

"Sooo… I hold onto your shoulder while you use Arc of Time?" The pink-head asked uncertainly, garnering a twitch from the Arc of Time mage. Great. He really had no idea. She was hoping for something a little more… promising.

"I suppose we can try that…" The dark-haired Councilwoman grumbled and motioned for the Dragon Slayer closer to the Iced Shell. Natsu obliged, and placed a strong hand on her shoulder, causing the woman to tense ever so slightly. She could feel the raw power welling up inside him. It was nothing like Master Hades, but it arguably rivalled the power those of the Seven Kin held. But a fair amount of it was like untapped potential… a dam just waiting to burst.

No, not a dam. That was far too small scale to adequately describe what she felt. It was little wonder that he hadn't made S-Class yet, if he hadn't accessed this wealth of power yet. The strangest part was how… _comforting_ it felt. Like a warm blanket that would shield you from the cold cruelty of this world.

Ultear closed her eyes in resignation as she prepared Arc of Time, holding up both her hands.

 _'… It doesn't matter. Whether we succeed or fail, he still dies no matter what.'_ After all, if he or his companions blabbed about her being on Galuna Island, or knowing about Deliora, and the word circulated, the Council would grow suspicious of her. And if Fairy Tail kicked up a fuss about their 'disappearance', she could just as easily rally the rest of the Seven Kin to attack them. Master Hades wouldn't mind crushing his old Guild.

Still, there was a niggling doubt in the back of her mind. And it began to grow like a fungus as Natsu's power coursed through her as she cast Arc of Time.

… This was going to be a long process, even if it was a failure. Her body simply did not want the flow to stop.

* * *

Sometime later, in a volcanic field, the Fire Dragon King stirred in a cave at feeling a disturbance. He pulled himself slightly out of the cave as he stared up at the 'sky' in aggravation.

" **Boy… You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up…!** " The Dragon bellowed, knowing full well he wouldn't be heard. He grunted in annoyance before channeling some of his power after digging his claws into the dirt and ash. " **Very well…** "

Igneel might not properly experience everything his son did… but he was well aware of everything that went on in his life. His Magic was not guaranteed to get the job done, but as things stood, it had a higher chance than Natsu's did by itself. Dragon Slaying Magic was unique and powerful, but it was not sufficient for the task that this 'Ultear' was asking for. Now… _his_ power, on the other hand, was even more unique, for Igneel was not quite as 'alive' as he used to be. What would happen if Igneel mixed his paradoxical power with Arc of Time…?

Only one way to find out.

* * *

Ultear could feel both her and Natsu's powers dwindling; she'd lost track of time, but it had to have been at least an hour since they got started. And there was no change in Iced Shell. She was going to call it quits, but then something entirely new welled up in Natsu and coursed through her a few moments later. There was no chance that it was Natsu's own power, which made Ultear all the more uneasy. She was going to sever the connection anyway because this power was on a whole other level than hers or Natsu's; it might very well dwarf even Master Hades'.

But then… Ultear wasn't sure what happened. Iced Shell began to shrink in on itself – not melting, but quite literally shrinking. The process was still slow-going, but Ultear could just tell that something was happening. Within five minutes, Iced Shell seemed to take the vague shape of a human adult, which soon distinguished itself as it took a womanly shape. Toward the end, there was a brief shimmer of light before the ice changed texture completely and revealed a woman lying on the cave floor, nude as the day she was born. Ultear nearly panicked when she didn't seem to be breathing, but closer inspection did indeed reveal the steady rising and fall of her chest.

When the strange power seemed to cut off from Natsu, Ultear could barely contain herself as she ran over to the woman. She was most definitely Ur Milkovich, and she was most certainly _alive_. Natsu sluggishly blinked as he seemed to recover from pumping so much Magic into Arc of Time, and he managed a tired grin as he watched Ultear carefully lift Ur up in her arms and carry her away from the looming Demon that was no longer encased in ice. He blushed as he registered the fact that this new woman was… naked…

"OW!" Natsu rubbed his temple after Ultear got close and flicked his forehead. He grinned sheepishly as a tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"Stop staring. Pervert." The young Milkovich grumbled before noticing Natsu was now staring up at Deliora. Craning her head to look up at the Demon's face, she smirked smugly. "See? I told you…"

Ultear didn't get to finish as the Demon's eyes snapped open and it released a roar that seismically shook the cave to its core. Natsu look became grave, and he punched his open palm before coating the fist in fire.

"Get your mom outta here! I don't got much, but I bet I got enough left in me to hold this guy off for a while!" Natsu's voice was brimming with determination and confidence, and Ultear couldn't hold back the panic in her own voice.

"Are you insane?! I _know_ you don't have much left! I could feel your reserves in conjunction with mine! _Neither_ of us is in any shape to-"

"Just _go_!" Natsu cut her off firmly. He figured bluffing wouldn't work after what they just accomplished, but he'd held out a small bit of hope she'd be too out of it to question him. Yeah, he was drained – he felt more tired than he ever had in his life! But Ultear actually got her mother back; he wasn't gonna hightail it outta here until their future was secured!

Ultear gnashed her teeth in frustration. More at herself than anything else. Here the idiot was willing to lay down his own life for people he didn't even know! Hell, if Ultear had her way, one of those lives would even be ended before too long! … But still. He insisted on playing the hero. Ultear should really be thanking him for making her job easier, but she found herself wanting to get him out of harm's way, too! _Why_?!

Ultear remained rooted in place. She knew if she stayed that she would be risking both her and her mother's lives – which would defeat the purpose of her revenge – but still she froze on the spot. Maybe she just felt absurdly grateful to the knucklehead Dragon Slayer, Ultear just didn't know. Regardless, Natsu leaped bravely at Deliora and met the Demon's incoming fist with his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack. When the two attacks collided, there was another tremor in the cave as the two met with seemingly equal power.

But then a miracle happened. Gradually, the Demon began to crumble as it gave an agonizing death howl. It could do nothing to try and take Natsu with it – the Demon simply… _died_. The tremors it gave off in its final moments cracked the floor beneath it where its decomposing body soon fell into, never to rise again. Both Natsu and Ultear looked on in amazement, with the Arc of Time mage somehow able to keep ahold of her mother in her arms. When everything subsided, Natsu crumpled to his knees and grinned like an idiot, pumping his fist in the air.

"HAAAH! I was able to beat one of Zeref's Demons in this crappy state! I knew I was awesome!" Natsu nodded his head sagely before he was kicked in the ribs by a twitchy Ultear.

"Don't _ever_ do something like that again!" The dark-haired woman growled with an overprotectiveness that even she didn't know she had. But Natsu soon pointed it out to her.

"Eh? Why would you care? I mean, it was kinda my job, wasn't it? Makin' sure you got your mom back?" Natsu cocked his head at her after standing back up, dusting off his pants. Ultear's face instantly became blank as she realized how… wrong her words sounded now that she reflected on them. Damn. She sounded like some clingy girlfriend!

"… Forget about it. Let's just get to that village near here and get my mother some clothes." Ultear huffed before turning on her heel and walking to the exit. Natsu raised an eyebrow at her mood swing, but didn't otherwise comment on it.

Of course now that it was all over, Levy and Happy came running into the cave with worry etched on their faces. Ultear resumed her earlier aloof mood with them around again.

"Natsuuu!" Happy floated up to the pair with Levy alongside him. "There were these weird tremors earlier, but nothing happened to the tunnels or nothin'! Do you know what that was all about?!"

Natsu's grin returned full force now that he had a potentially more 'appreciative' audience to brag to.

"There was a Demon from the Book of Zeref sealed here, but I beat him with one punch! HAAAH!" Natsu made some eccentric jabbing noises with his fists and grinned, showing off all his pointy teeth.

At their incredulous stares, Ultear closed her eyes and breathed through her nose airily.

"It's the truth… Look, we'll tell you all about it after we get to that village. My… mother… needs some clothes…" Ultear ground out impatiently, and that's when the pair noticed Ur's condition. Levy blushed as red as a tomato, and Happy did a double-take before flying about in a panic.

"AHHH! If Erza finds out Natsu saw a naked woman, she's gonna put him in a comaaa!" The blue tomcat was summarily punched on the top of the head by an irate Dragon Slayer, sending the cat off to blissful fishy dreamland.

"SHADDUP! I've bathed with Erza before! Gray, too! I'mma get both of 'em back for the past couple days!" Natsu roared cockily before stomping off into the tunnels in annoyance. Levy's blush did not diminish, but Ultear's twitching did increase.

 _'When I get my hands on you…'_ Ultear internally growled and moved to follow the Dragon Slayer, still holding Ur bridal style as she went. Levy, still blushing madly, followed suit after scooping up Happy.

"I think this trip went a little too well in cheering Natsu up…" Levy sheepishly chuckled. That was about the only reason she agreed to come along; even if it was indirectly, she still caused Natsu to get punished by Erza, and she wanted to try and cheer him up.

Mission accomplished…?

* * *

 **Author's Note: … It's only been a few days? Hehe. I liked how this came out so fast. XD Granted, it was a little more serious than I intended, but… ehhh. We'll get back to the silly next chap. Rly. We're in for some good times with Ultear-chan and Ur-chan. :D**

 **I'm a little surprised I've withheld in making Erza the first girl to 'get Natsu', but I just let the writing take me where it would. I suppose in fairness, I have my 'Natza fic', my 'NaMiZa fic', and now my, well… 'Natsu harem' fic. It might be boring if I started off with Erza and/or Mira, so let's just roll with it. They'll get their dragon eventually. My inner Natza fan simply won't allow it any other way; nor will my inner NaMiZa fan… which is kinda in its infancy, but I digress.**

 **Given how my muse has gravitated to this fic for the past week, I'm probably going to be writing this and getting another update out this week… I mean, c'mon! Ultear-chan is here! Ultear-chan, you little tsundere. XD Ahhh, I will have my fun. Hope you enjoyed this a little.**

 **For the reviewer that asked about Wendy – I sent you a PM in reply, so I won't repeat my reasoning here. Tempest35 is aware of my thoughts on NaWen, too… Dangnabbit, stop thinkin' about Wendy Belserion! Grr. Irene… took away… Wendy's cute and cuddly… even if it was for a brief time… Darn you, Mashima! :P**

 **On a final, unrelated note - my little 'Tumblr debut' seemed to go well with my first post. ... Well, by my standards. I thought it flopped for the first couple days, but it exponentially increased in reactions tonight (okay, so it's got like fourteen 'reactions'/shares. It was just something I wrote in my PM thread with Tempest35 recently, but I thought others might like it. To get my mind off... _her_... I'll post it here, too. Enjoy!**

Jellal: Erza… what is that… mongrel…? *warily looking at the 'green monkey' that the scarlet knight is cuddling*

Erza: ^_^ This is Kemo-Kemo! Natsu and I have adopted him. *nuzzles her face to Kemo-Kemo's* Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?

Jellal: … Y-You mean Natsu is the…. Uncle… right….?

Erza: *shakes head* No… he's the father. *visibly brightens* But you can be the Fun Uncle!

Jellal: *inwardly sobbing* B-But I thought…

Erza: … 'we had something special'? *shrugs uncaringly* I got tired of waiting around for you, so Natsu and I are an item now. Funny thing is, Lucy said the same thing to Natsu, but she couldn't even be within five feet of Kemo-Kemo without flinching.

Jellal: ….. But I thought all girls liked to wait around for their boyfriends.

Erza: I thought so, too, until Natsu took our skinship in the bath to a whole new level. *_*

Jellal: Wh-Wha…?!

Erza: Here, wanna hold him? *hands over Kemo-Kemo to a flabbergasted Jellal* Oh, I just want to take a picture of you two together~! ^_^

Jellal: Wha… Wha… Wha…

Kemo-Kemo: *narrowed eyes* NYAH! *Burps out LONG stream of fire right in Jellal's face*

Erza: Hmmm. He did the same thing to Master. I'm not quite sure what that means yet, besides it being a defense reflex, but he's still so cute when he does that~! ^_^

Jellal: … **This woman is stark-raving mad….**


	5. Chapter 5

As she lay on her side, Ultear glared moodily at the slumbering woman in the bed across from hers. The villagers had been a little less than welcoming, but Ultear supposed that was what happened when she allowed Lyon and his toadies to go through with the Moon Drip ceremony. According to McGarden, the reason that they couldn't get near the temple was that it kept demons from approaching.

That's right. Every single villager here was a demon. Not demons from the Book of Zeref, mind you – they wouldn't be staying the night there otherwise. Just… ordinary demons. … That made _no sense_ whatsoever. At any rate, Ultear deduced that the Moon Drip ceremony had messed with the demons' minds, making them believe they were humans turning into demons at night because of the 'moon'. She revealed none of this to the mages of Fairy Tail or the villagers; they'd simply question how she knew about it, and Ultear was in no mood for it. So instead, she promised that after a day's rest, she and Natsu would… deal with… the problem. Kami, what was wrong with her? Even though she didn't _mean_ it that way, her words and thoughts still implied a deeper relationship than she had with the Dragon Slayer. _All_ they were going to do was destroy the noxious membrane hovering over the island; there was nothing more to read into it. They were currently the strongest, conscious mages that could do so; McGarden wasn't going to be able to support the Pyro, and she doubted Natsu would be able to destroy the lens by himself. And her mother… her mother…

 _'Why am I second-guessing myself now…?'_ The dark-haired mage glowered at the comatose woman. _'You abandoned me. Forced me into that hellhole and then took on those two_ students _…'_

Ultear was very frustrated with herself. There was no explicable reason for her to hold back. Vengeance was hers for the taking, and she just… couldn't… carry it out. The Arc of Time mage reasoned it was simply because the woman was comatose; there would be no satisfaction in killing her tormentor in that state. But… if she woke up, that would just make _her_ job that much harder! Ur wasn't a pushover; she was a contender for Wizard Saint status. Didn't mean that Ultear still couldn't take her out – it just meant that Ultear was uncertain of her mother's strength and where she stood by comparison. Arc of Time _should_ allow her to counter Ur's Maker Magic… But what if she adapted? Ur was bound to have other methods of fighting, given her reputation. Ultear didn't like taking risks; practically anyone from Grimoire Heart that worked with her could attest to this.

… This fact did not galvanize her into action, as she had hoped. All Ultear could do was glare venomously at the person she despised above all others in the world before sleep overtook her.

 _'I_ hate _you…'_

* * *

The following evening, Ultear had been expecting the questions when she and Natsu shattered the membrane – or from every perspective but her own, 'shattered the sky'. Thankfully, she was able to pass off her knowledge as being a member of the Magic Council; it was even a half-truth. The Council did know about Moon Drip. No one on the Council knew the side effects could get this bad, though, when it was used for prolonged periods of time. But then again, Ultear could pass that off thanks to Levy translating that ancient writing at the temple. It was simple deductive reasoning, nothing more.

It helped that the villagers knew about Lyon's group; they were just never able to get near the temple to find out the activity going on there. Ultear noticed Natsu was mildly suspicious even after everything seemed answered, though she supposed his suspicion was warranted with Deliora encased in Iced Shell. Even so, the Dragon Slayer didn't approach her, which greatly threw Ultear off. The Arc of Time mage wouldn't have even killed him at this point if he did; she was just so lost. So very lost. Why couldn't she just take her vengeance? Why couldn't she at the very least wipe out the Fairy Tail mages?

 _'Is the Grand Magic World even worth it at this point…?'_ The passing thought startled Ultear so much that she nearly fell off the rock she was sitting on, watching the 'celebration' of the villagers and the Fairy Tail mages from a distance. _'Where… did that come from…?'_

Ultear wondered with some exasperation. Not once in the past decade had she regretted her decisions. She broke out of the Bureau of Magical Development? They were torturing her every day with 'experiments'. She ran away from her mother without even approaching her? The witch had replaced her – there wasn't anything to 'talk' about. She returned to the Bureau? Now she was using them to get stronger to enact her revenge. She joined the leading Guild of the Balam Alliance…? Prior to recent events, she would have believed wholeheartedly that she didn't regret it, even with all the crimes she committed.

But now Ur was back, and she wasn't near either of her precious 'replacements'. Sure, she'd ask about those two – they'd be at the forefront of her mind in all likelihood – but… Here was a chance to reconnect with her mother. Without going through the hassle of locating Zeref and having him bring about the Grand Magic World. It wasn't the ideal reunion Ultear had wanted, with history rewritten, but damn it…

 _'What have I been doing?'_ Ultear shook her head morosely. She drew her knees to her chest and frowned. Her line of thought had already derailed; might as well let it take her where it will. _'Even in the Grand Magic World, I would be feeling guilty about what it took to get there… And just what kind of satisfaction would I have gotten from killing Ur? If I'm hesitating now, there's no way I could've killed her at any time, even if she hadn't used Iced Shell…'_

"Y'know I can see up your skirt… right?"

Ultear's eyes widened at the abrupt appearance of the Dragon Slayer and reacted on impulse.

"KYAAAH!" She pelted him with an Arc of Time orb – to the jaw – and stood ramrod straight up, glowering at him. "What are you doing here?!"

Natsu rubbed his jaw and scowled at the dark-haired mage.

"Jeez, I was just tryna help! You forget that you requested me for the job or what?" The Dragon Slayer grumbled as he watched the woman blush ever-so-slightly.

"I meant what are you doing _here_ … You _were_ enjoying the party." Ultear huffed as she crossed her arms exasperatedly. This knucklehead…

"Well, yeah," Natsu replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But you were off here on your own, so I thought I'd at least come 'n say hi. You shouldn't hafta be alone after we helped this village, beat Deliora, and got your mom back."

Ultear's blush faded as she got a good, long look at the Dragon Slayer's eyes. He wasn't being confrontational, disguised or otherwise. He was really just trying to be nice.

"Well… thank you." Ultear let out uneasily. "I just need some time by myself, Natsu. There's nothing… look, just forget about it."

Natsu mirrored her stance as he cross his own arms, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I've experienced loss, too, y'know. Not just my dad – I lost a good friend, too. The friend I'll never be seeing again, but I _am_ gonna find Igneel." Natsu shrugged at her confused stare. He mighta just been rambling at this point, but he felt he needed to bring this up. "When you feel loss, it screws with your head. I don't even wanna think about the messed up crap I woulda done if Gramps hadn't found me! Look, I just wanna say… if you ever wanna talk about it, I'll listen. I'd like to know more about you, since I feel like we could understand one another, but I'm not gonna make you do anything. Just… don't feel like you have to do everything alone."

Ultear chewed on her lower lip as she watched Natsu turn right back around and go back to the party. Normally, the Arc of Time mage would have dismissed his words as naiveté; the Dragon Slayer just hadn't experienced enough to know how cruel the world could be. But… his eyes conveyed sincerity. Even if their experiences differed, the Dragon Slayer was fully aware of loss and how it could affect someone. Moreover, the pink-head _was_ the one person here that she didn't mind being around…

"Natsu…!" Before she could restrain herself, Ultear had called out his name. Biting her lip nervously, Ultear averted her gaze when he turned back to her, but she mumbled loud enough for him to hear. "I-If you wanted to keep me company, I wouldn't mind."

 _'Stay for a bit…'_ She unwittingly gave a silent plea. What was it about this man? Ultear infuriatingly found herself wanting to associate with him more; she couldn't help herself.

Natsu shrugged neutrally before giving one of his signature grins and walking back over to the rock she was standing on. Before he could sit down on the grass beneath it, though, Ultear sat back down on the rock and patted the spot next to her. There was room for two, apparently. Shrugging again, Natsu climbed up and sat with the Arc of Time mage. Ultear unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder before too long, and the Dragon Slayer did nothing to stop her. Eventually, they just lost track of time as the festivities continued, and Ultear was lulled to sleep by the heat Natsu exuded.

When the festivities died down, Natsu carefully scooped the Arc of Time mage up and returned her to the housing provided for them. He twitched at Happy's snickering as the tomcat witnessed him do it, but he didn't audibly tell the cat off. Didn't wanna wake up Ultear. As he laid the dark-haired woman in her bed, he couldn't help noticing the blissful smile on her face. He gave a small grin, and lightly dusted a couple strands of hair off of her face.

"Night, Ultear…"

* * *

"Well, it's now or never." Chance chirped as he held up the detonation device. Chase rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, sparing a look at the still slumbering Meredy, who had been moved off the airship with them. And now the twins had a prime view of what the tippity-top secret weapon the Magic Council had been developing back in their time would do.

"This is either going to backfire on us epically… Or we'll send the Balam Alliance into disarray." Chase mused in agreement.

"How big do you think the Boom is gonna be?"

"Not everything the Council develops blows up!"

"The really epic stuff does!"

Chase huffed but did not contradict his brother. As usual, he had a point. Chase was just curious about stuff that _didn't_ go Boom… Was that so wrong?

"Just set it off already!"

"3… 2… 1… And _pressed_!" Chance waved a hand over the Lacrima orb, activating the experimental weapon. For several moments, nothing seemed to happen, and disappointment was clearly reflected in the twins' eyes.

But then… a swirling vortex grew in size from within the airship, and within seconds, the whole airship got sucked into the vortex, as if it were flushed down a drain. Then the vortex disappeared, and there was no sight of any Grimoire Heart members or their precious airship. Chance and Chase stared with wide eyes and slacked jaws before turning to each other in wonder.

"… Did we just warp them into oblivion?" Chase questioned automatically. They had no means of re-observing the phenomenon; that one time was it, and that… _vortex_ could've been any number of things!

"Naw, naw! They'll be fine!" Chance laughed sheepishly. "… We're so dead. Simon's gonna wring our necks…"

"At least it was only the really bad ones aboard the ship! We spared Meldy, Ultear, and Capricorn, right?!" Chase knew full well that still left Old Man Precht, Blue Note Stinger, Azuma, Rusty Rose, Zancrow, Kain, Jellal, and who knows how many grunts sucked into oblivion. They'd waited until as many were onboard the ship as possible before detonating the experimental weapon.

"You think that's gonna work on Big Bro? He thinks everyone can be redeemed!" Chance whined. "Not to mention the Council is gonna freak over these guys' 'disappearance'!"

Chance and Chase shared a look before they spoke their next words together.

"… I regret nothing."

* * *

Ur wasn't sure how, but for the first time in forever, she could feel sensation again. She believed that by casting the Iced Shell, she had forfeited her life… Apparently, this was not the case, as not a minute after feeling a bed beneath her, she also blearily opened her eyes, taking in the unfamiliar room around her. Furthermore, she winced as a screechy voice called out an unfamiliar name; so she had hearing, as well.

"NATSUUU! It looks like that one lady woke up!"

Ur sluggishly shook her head as she tried to make sense of what was before her eyes… A blue tomcat that was… flying? And it was looking straight at her after momentarily sparing a glance at an open door that led to outside. Did she mention that it seemed to _talk_?

"Wh-Where… am I…?" Ur rasped out, clearly craving some water for her parched throat.

"We're on Galuna Island!" The blue cat chirped with a goofy grin. "Natsu and some Councilwoman helped defrost you or somethin', and Natsu ended up beatin' the Demon you encased in ice!"

Ur's breath hitched at the reminder of the monster she had thought to have sealed away forever.

"D-D-Deliora?!" Ur sat up rigidly and narrowed her eyes at the cat. "Where is it?! _Tell me_!"

"Relax, Miss Ur!" Happy tried to console the woman. "It's really gone! Natsu said it crumbled to itty-bitty pieces when he punched it! The Councilwoman said it was 'cause your technique chipped away at its life force, and it was basically dead when it got defrosted, too! No one got hurt or nothin'! … Well, by it, anyway. The Councilwoman kinda pummeled Natsu for being reckless."

As Happy giggled sheepishly at the memory, Ur was trying her best to come to grips with reality. If what this cat said was true, Deliora was… dead… and miraculously, she was back among the living. Ur had so many questions floating in her head, but before she could pose any of them, a blue-haired teenage girl came rushing into the room with a cup of water with some ice in it.

"Sorry, sorry! We didn't know when you'd wake up, so I tried to stay close…" Levy laughed sheepishly as Ur gratefully accepted the drink. Truth be told, she got distracted, as she was fascinated to get to know some of the 'people' here. Despite being a different species, they still had taste in literature and the like. Not to insult these Demons or anything! Levy simply never imagined there could be Demons this… tame. They definitely weren't made by Zeref!

"Where's Natsu?" Happy asked somewhat impatiently, and Levy rubbed the back of her head at the question.

"He's… He's coming, Happy. In case you forgot, we do have a client." The Solid Script mage chided the cat gently. For Happy's part, he forgot the client's name; though for Levy, she was told expressly by said woman to not reveal her name to Ur when she woke up. Ultear would handle that herself, though Levy couldn't say she understood why she was insistent on this point.

Ur raised an eyebrow, as now she was really curious about this 'client', who was presumably the Councilwoman that the cat spoke of. Who on the Council would want her back so badly that they would risk releasing Deliora? Had a new crisis arisen in her absence?

"Excuse me, but who are you people?" Ur asked as she finally organized her thoughts. "And how long have I been… frozen?"

"Oh, we're members of Fairy Tail!" Levy and Happy proceeded to show the Ice Make mage their emblems. At seeing a hazy aura surround Ur, Levy sheepishly asked, "Ehe… Bad meeting with one of our members in the past?"

"So you belong to the same Guild as Gildarts…" Ur muttered loud enough for the pair of Fairy Tail members to hear her. She didn't know the man all that well, but she'd met him a handful of times as he encroached on her turf in Isvan for S- and SS-Class jobs. Her bangs overshadowing her eyes seemed to indicate she was angry at the memory of the Crash mage, but then she burst out snickering, completely shattering the tension in the air. "Oh, that man was a shameless perv! I guess I didn't help matters with my little 'habit', but he wasn't the worst guy I met. Dirty and perverted, but a decent guy in heart."

Happy grinned as this woman seemed to like Gildarts, and Levy sweatdropped as what Ur said was quite true. You know it's bad when the average kid at Fairy Tail could tell that Gildarts (and Master, for that matter) was and still is a pervert and not afraid to show it. It made for quite some interesting 'birds and the bees' talks, led by Erza and Mira. Poor Natsu and Gray were traumatized.

"A-Ah… Well, to answer your second question, it's been about ten years since you froze Deliora, I think." Levy meekly replied even as the Ice Make mage's snickering died down. Ur could only nod, as that seemed about right if Deliora had been on its last legs to be beaten by one punch. Even so, there was still so much that Ur wanted and needed to know. But before she could get into all that, a pink-headed teenager came dragging in a dark-haired woman that seemed a mixture of annoyed and embarrassed at being brought into the room in such a manner.

Ur did not miss how the woman froze as their eyes met. Frankly, Ur felt a strange sense of familiarity as well; she just couldn't place it.

"Nice to finally meet you!" It was the pink-headed teen that spoke up first. He seemed about as chipper as the blue tomcat, and equally eccentric. Ur raised an amused brow at the boy's enthusiasm. Was she really that revered still, or was this guy a can of pent-up energy, like Gildarts?

… Come to think of it, Ur supposed she had the luck of knowing males that had vigor. Even her two students… Ur mentally berated herself. How could she forget about them?

"So you're the Natsu guy that melted Iced Shell…?" Ur asked curiously, figuring she would focus on one thing at a time. Gray and Lyon were important, but the guy that pulled her back from the brink of death was here in front of her. How could she not sate her curiosity?

Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at her burrowing, inquisitive glance.

"I helped, sure, but Fire Dragon Slaying Magic wasn't enough to melt that stuff." The pink-head muttered. He gestured to Ultear. "She's the one you should really thank. Ultear knew about every- OOMPH!"

Ultear elbowed Natsu in the ribs at his slipup, but the damage was already done. Ur's eyes panned over to her again and widened as they got a better look at the 'Councilwoman'. Of course she was hardly recognizable because it'd been so long, but there was no mistaking it if the woman invested in bringing her back was named...

Ultear flinched away from Ur's shocked, disbelieving gaze, but then her bitter, betrayed feelings resurfaced, and her gaze hardened as she looked back at Ur. If this woman was going to reject her or plead ignorance to 'abandoning' her, it was best to not let Ur's words hurt her. However, the first words out of Ur's mouth, in conjunction with the first _action_ … Ultear was completely bewildered.

"They told me you were dead…" Ur had moved with a speed she thought she would have to work back up to, and swept Ultear up in a heartfelt embrace. Her back wracked with sobs, and she continued to mumble into Ultear's shoulder. "They said your remains were too 'gruesome'… I shouldn't have taken them at their word… _I shouldn't have_ … But…"

… But she had. Ur had been a fool, and she knew it. She had let those bastards kidnap her daughter without so much as an inquiry or any kind of doubt. What kind of mother was she?!

Ultear, for her part, was uncomfortable in more ways than one. The hug pinned her arms to her sides, and her mother's 'excuse' sounded… plausible. She remembered that hellhole with frightening clarity. The 'doctors' there sounded polite, but if you proved uncooperative, they were not above the use of force. Reflecting on it, just why did she return there after discovering her mother's 'betrayal'? Of course she had wanted revenge… But to think she'd never once reflected on her conduct. To question… _anything_ …

"… I thought you abandoned me." Ultear replied sullenly and did not look back up even as Ur tearfully looked into her eyes. The Arc of Time mage made no movement to reciprocate the hug – she didn't deserve to. "I managed to escape the Bureau, but when I made it back home… You… and those two…"

As expected by this point, Ur didn't raise her voice or strike her. The Ice Make Wizard simply tightened the embrace and resumed resting her head on Ultear's shoulder.

"You had the opposite problem of Lyon, then…" Ur murmured quietly. "I made it clear to both of them that they weren't replacing you. Lyon wanted to become strong, and I gave Gray a home because he lost his family to Deliora. Teaching them partly filled the void in my heart… But losing you was just too much."

Ultear could only feel shame now. Of course she'd been wrong all this time. A bitter part of Ultear was reprimanding herself for taking Ur's words at face value, but if she couldn't trust her own mother, then why the hell should she cling to the Bureau of Magical Development, the Balam Alliance, or even just Master Hades? She'd already leveled the former, and if she had her way, the latter two would be quick to fall as well, now that she could think more clearly than ever before.

Ultear Milkovich had regained her mother, and she wasn't going to lose her ever again.

As the Arc of Time mage tentatively returned her mother's embrace, the Fairy Tail mages watched the touching reunion somewhat uneasily. … Well, Levy and Happy were a bit uneasy about being present for something so personal. But the two grinned shyly all the same, and Natsu had his arms behind his head while he grinned like a loon. If he couldn't trust the Councilwoman after this, he'd eat his own flames.

… Which, you know, would be _bad_.

* * *

Later that day, after receiving a generous reward of one million Jewel and a Golden Celestial Gate Key, the Fairy Tail Wizards returned to Magnolia with the mother and daughter pair. Ultear was a bit against the idea, for multiple reasons, but Ur was rather insistent, and Ultear didn't have the heart to turn her down. The reward money would go toward Ur getting a place in Magnolia, as she wanted to catch up with her student and see what the Fairy Tail Guild was like, and returning to Isvan just didn't seem right. Not with her old home being a sore reminder of losing Ultear once. Protecting her students from Deliora wasn't such a bad memory, but from what Natsu told her, it had affected Gray, and she had no doubt Lyon had been similarly affected.

Patching things up would take some work…

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!" Natsu hollered as he kicked the doors to the Guildhall open. This brought many a faint smile to the mages lounging around there. Now the key would be to not dredge up the past few days… even if they were sorry. A depressed Pyro was just not good for morale.

"LEVY'S BACK!" The Solid Script mage's usual teammates glomped her and whisked her away from the Dragon Slayer before she could utter a single word in objection.

Most of the Guild paid them no heed, though. It wasn't exactly a secret how Jet and Droy felt about the Solid Script user – though some were a _little_ interested to see if the bookworm would break away from them to go back to Natsu. Hey, say what you will, but for all they knew, Levy took the time she had with Natsu and won his heart.

… Not that the betting pools were in place anymore.

Master Makarov and many of the older mages, such as Macao and Wakaba, were doing a double-take at the pair of women still at Natsu's side. Councilwoman Milkovich wasn't a model for Sorcerer Weekly, but she'd been asked in the past, and boy… seeing her still _very_ youthful mother next to her… Many of the adult men were currently shivering pleasurably at the sight.

"NATSU, I COULD KISS YOU!" Makarov gleefully bounced up and danced on the bar counter as a small trickle of blood escaped his nose. He stopped moving when Ur subconsciously took off her shirt, leaving her in her bra, and that 'small trickle' became a gusher of a nosebleed. Did Natsu somehow clone Councilwoman Milkovich?!

"AMAZIIING!" Macao and Wakaba exclaimed in unison, having similar nasal problems.

" _Ur_?!" Gray spewed out his drink and stood up from his seat in shock. Of course he was stripped down to his boxers. "The hell?!"

There was many a perverted scream of pleasure as Ur stripped down to her panties as well. And true to form, she placed her hands on her hips and glanced at Gray appraisingly, continuing on normally.

"Gray! Don't tell me you're training in here."

Gray looked down at himself questioningly before pointing at his teacher accusingly.

"This is your fault!" Growling at the cat-calling Ur was receiving as she placed a hand on one of her bra straps. "Could you _not_ go that far?! Put your shirt back on, at least!"

Cue defeated groans as Ur looked down and sheepishly smiled. Ultear was twitching and moving to the _other_ side of Natsu, away from her mother. She'd been weirded out when she found Gray had that peculiar habit, and now she apparently knew the source of that _habit_ …

Ultear wanted to encase the perverts' testicles in ice for not only eyeing her mother like she was eye candy, but looking at her as well, expecting her to have the same habit. It was not genetic, thank Kami. … But it could be taught. And that was frightening enough.

It didn't take long for Natsu to kickstart one of their regular brawls. Gray slipped Ur away to talk before she was ogled further or before Master got… naughty. Rolling her eyes at being left alone at the entrance, Ultear made her way to the bar to order herself a stiff one. Could you blame her? A certain headache of the Magic Council had been recommended to her by a pair of spineless cowards – cowards she would be hunting down when she had the chance, but at least Meldy seemed safe – and then that Pyromaniac had profoundly affected her. On top of that, her mother had returned and her assumptions of the past had been shattered…

If that didn't constitute having a stiff drink, Ultear didn't know what did.

"Hello there! You must be Councilor Milkovich!"

At the bright, chirpy voice, Ultear looked across the counter to see the bubbly Mirajane Strauss. Unlike a fair amount of people – male or female – she wasn't dazzled into showering Mira with praise. … If anything, Ultear was a bit on guard with that smile that didn't meet the eldest Strauss's eyes. Ultear knew all about facades; seemed like someone wasn't happy about something.

"… I am." Ultear confirmed before ordering some choice wine. Mira went about preparing her drink, and the Arc of Time mage wasn't surprised when the former Takeover mage picked the conversation back up when she presented it to her.

"… So. You requested Natsu for a mission. What did you need him for?" Mira asked with seemingly passive interest. Ultear knew better of course. So that was what this was about…

She figured there was no harm in telling the silver-haired barmaid about what really transpired. No doubt she'd be hearing the story from Gray when her mother got through telling him, and Ultear wasn't in the mood to be accused of lying. There was too much on Ultear's plate for her to be worried about the Dragon Slayer's 'girlfriend' throwing a hissy fit in the Era courtroom… After all, Ultear would be too busy hunting down that bastard Brain and plotting a coup against Hades to be worried about such silly things.

… For some reason the Arc of Time mage felt her blood boil at considering the cover girl of Sorcerer Weekly to be Natsu's… girlfriend…

"Well, I'm glad that worked out for you." Mira spoke in the same (false) cheery tone after Ultear had finished regaling her. "But tell me… Did anything… _else_ happen between you two…? By which I mean you and Natsu."

Ah, now they were really getting to the heart of the matter. Mira was checking for competition… Well, two could play at this game.

"I don't seem to recall Natsu having a girlfriend…?" Ultear smirked as the barmaid stood ramrod straight at the barb, but had to admire the friendly grin that stayed plastered on her face. Too bad it didn't meet her eyes. "Even if something did happen, I think I'm within my rights to 'make a move'. Not to mention keep it between me and Natsu."

Ultear smirked as the barmaid struggled with every fiber of her being to maintain appearance before hastily excusing herself to attend other Guildmates waaay on the other side of the Guildhall. She pitied the Dragon Slayer for the eventual shitstorm headed his way, but that's what he got for getting buddy-buddy with her. Making her heart thump inside her chest… feeling all warm and gooey inside… revolting…

Plus that model for Sorcerer Weekly needed to be taken down a peg. She could literally have any man, and she was getting all defensive about having to do some legwork…

"So did you really do anything…?" Cana Alberona asked a few seats down from her, having listened in on the conversation.

"… Nothing explicit. I might have rested my head on his shoulder for a bit… But he's sooo warm." Ultear purposefully gushed to get a rise out of the drunk, but the Cards mage kept a handle on herself a lot better than Mira did.

"I'll admit, you're pretty good. But I can tell you have a thing for Pinky, too. Might just be a spark, but that's enough to start a fire." Cana glugged a barrel of booze before casting it aside and smirking at the dark-haired Councilwoman. "Word of advice: Get out while you can. You want that loveable Pyro, you play for keeps. Me, Mira, 'n Erza won't have it any other way."

Ultear snorted at the brunette's warning before she went and grabbed a Quest off the assignment board. 'Getting out' would be a simple task. Contrary to what that drunk assumed, Natsu was _not_ that special to her heart… yet.

 _'What am I saying? There's no way I'll get involved any more than this. It takes more than bringing my mother back to woo me.'_ Ultear scowled down at her wine glass, as it became clear she was trying to convince herself of this. She and Natsu were barely acquaintances, nothing more.

… If only Ultear knew the war had only just begun.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Lalala… I'm on a ro- *looks at calendar* o_o It's been ten days. Gaaah… My muse is a fickle thing. PM thread, Tumblr, Fervent Crimson Flame, Natsu's Choice… I got a lot on my plate, and I just got around to finishing this diddly. Bah! :P**

 **FCF or NC will be updated next. As much as I like the craziness of this fic, I've been trying to write those stories as well. FCF has a tantalizing treat for the next update~. If you thought Warrod making a cameo was good, I hope you get a kick out of the next cameo. XD And NC… Things are gonna escalate. The trick will be not resolving the tension too soon.**

 **But yeah, that's all I got this time. No idea what comes next here. Lovely. XD I look forward to your raw reactions of a certain plot twist I made here. Hmhmhm. Probably a few people will be upset, but they'll just hafta wait and find out** _ **exactly**_ **what I did in that little scene… You might be able to guess at it. XD**


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